No Other Man Alive
by sgtgirl
Summary: Happy rides in to find that the tattoo artist who has been tallying his smiley faces for over a decade is newly widowed and in a shitstorm of her late husband's making. Will Ace's fierce loyalty and single-minded focus become Happy's weakness? HappyxOC,AU
1. Chapter 1

Happy throttled his bike down off of the I-5, flanked by fellow nomad, Shark and Tacoma Sergeant at Arms, Kozik. He was tired of the ride and looking forward to adding to his collection of smiley faced badges of honor. There was only one artist he trusted to get it right, the same one who had been steadily building the collection for the 15 years he'd been a patched Son. Ace had only been 14 the first time he'd put a tattoo kit in her hand. It had been a stupid risk to take, but he'd been so high on the success of his first club hit and all the swag of being 27 that he'd carefully coached her through it, needing desperately to mark the occasion. Her blue eyes had been huge when she'd accepted it from him, but her face had been hard, listening to his instruction. She had been perfect.

Happy's Harley could practically navigate itself to the tat shop in Fallbrook where Ace had been working for over 10 years, and he swung easily into the narrow alley that led to the back parking lot. The headlight flashed across an unmistakable knot of what passed for gangsters here and he braked hard, planting his boots. The brief flash of red in the middle had him off his ride and pulling both SIG Sauers from his holster. Kozik and Shark were right behind him. Shark had been here before, rolling in after runs and even getting ink of his own at her hand; he understood immediately that the situation was about to combust.

Ace cursed colorfully in English, then Spanish, switching back to English to inform the Bastardo pinning her to the wall that she'd paid as much as she could on the debt that belonged to her dead Marine husband. It was a good thing that Tony had killed himself before she'd found out about the bill he'd racked up on hookers and gambling because otherwise she'd be forced to do it for him. Just as the punk in charge ordered one of his men inside to steal what cash he could, Ace heard the sound of motorcycles. Part of her hoped insanely that it would be Happy or one of his Nomads, so she was flabbergasted when three headlights actually swung into the alley.

She ducked down at the graveled order just as two deliberate pistol rounds cracked off above her head. The night dissolved into chaos as the gangsters fled, leaving just the man inside the shop.

"One inside!" she yelled as Happy had darted past her, intent on catching at least one of the Bastardos running for their lives. The intel stopped him dead in his tracks and Ace saw the slow grin spread across his face.

"Shark, stay with her." He growled. "Koz, flush him from the front?"

As Shark pulled her to her feet, Ace caught a glimpse of a blond hunk disappearing around the corner to storm the front so Happy could easily pick him off as he came through the back door. Happy glanced back at her and then shoved her farther down the alley, glaring at Shark. "Sorry," she mumbled, much to Shark's amusement.

Happy watched Shark tuck her against the wall behind his lanky, pierced and tatted body. His mind was already racing trying to extrapolate what the fuck was going on here. He hoped that once he snagged this little bitch, answers would begin to flow. Whether they came from the asshole inside or from Ace was going to say a lot. He wondered briefly where Ace's husband was, but dismissed it as he heard the sound of boots at a dead run coming from the other side of the door. He stepped square in front of the punk as the door swung outward. Catching it with his left hand, Happy pivoted and ruthlessly slammed it back into the man's face, pleased with the meaty sound it made as it collided. Kozik came strolling through the door, stepping carefully over the semi-conscious Bastardo to peer around the door at Ace, barely visible behind Shark. Happy grunted and began to drag the man inside the shop, avoiding the pointedly raised eyebrow from Kozik. "Get her inside!" he yelled back to Shark.

Ace wasted no time darting around Shark and heading for her shop. "Thanks!" she threw over her shoulder, barely slowing as she rounded the door. Her whole body was lit up, knowing Happy was finally here. He hadn't come to see her in almost a year and she had been on the verge of calling his mother in Bakersfield ever since Tony had committed suicide 4 months ago, just in hopes that Happy would catch wind of what was doing here in Fallbrook.

Her eyes drank in the sight of him as he dropped the Bastardo gangster into one of the chairs. His back was to her, so she didn't even bother to disguise her desperate relief. She had a tiny moment of panic as tears threatened to well up just as he began to turn, but his gaze skipped over her to Kozik and Shark coming through the alcove behind her.

"Tie him." He ordered, and then Ace felt his large hand land on the back of her neck and propel her past the two Sons and back into the alcove. She sighed, summoning what little dignity Ace felt like she had left to herself, prepared for the inquisition she knew was coming. In the dim lighting of the alcove, Happy gently pushed her back against the storage room door and braced himself in front of her, boots planted and arms crossed.

"Want to explain what the fuck I just stepped on, Ace?" he questioned, his jaw tight.

"Not especially." She sassed back, unable to stop the words before they came flying out of her mouth. Ace felt her eyes widen and wished she didn't have to invite Happy to a front row viewing of her current humiliating life. She briefly thought that she would give just about anything to leave Fallbrook behind her.

They stared at each other in the shitty, industrial lighting. Happy's eyebrow raised and Ace sighed, feeling like the mouth of a trap had just swung shut behind her. All the fight drained out of her and she let herself slide down the door, propping her elbows on her knees and burying her face in her hands.

"Ace." She wanted so badly to resist, but she couldn't. She leaned her head back and met his gaze.

"My piece of shit husband accrued a sizable debt with the Bastardos, they came here to collect." Ace was shocked to hear that her voice was steady, despite the edge of exhaustion.

"Dope?" Happy inquired, and all his instincts fired up when Ace laughed.

"Cards and hookers, apparently. I didn't actually know what the debt was until after…" her voice trailed off.

"Where the fuck is Tony, Ace?" Ace smiled up at Happy, oddly cheered by the subzero chill in his voice.

"You'll be pleased to know that he hung himself in our garage before I even knew what happened. The Bastardos showed up at his funeral to collect the outstanding balance. That was 4 months ago." She started laughing. Her whole life was a gigantic clusterfuck at the moment; one that she couldn't begin to see a way out of, but Happy was here. He was here and he'd given her a brief reprieve from the Bastardos, and just like every single other time he'd shown up, here for ink or knocking on her window at her parents' old house in Bakersfield, he made everything just seem brighter. She could see his anger get abruptly derailed by her unexpected fit of laughter, a tic that he knew popped up at the most unlikely times.

Wordlessly, Happy pulled her to her feet and tucked her into his chest. He felt the weight of what he was offering, because in the decades he had known her, from the annoying child his mother watched after school to the awkward teen he'd first entrusted with a tat gun to the married at 18 woman he'd tracked down for her skills with that tat gun, the only physical contact they'd shared was when she was laying ink on him. Happy's palm cradled the back of her head, and he dimly registered how easily he could crush her skull or snap her neck. He wondered briefly if she'd have come to him so easily if she really knew how dangerous he was, but quickly concluded that she hadn't been tallying his kill count for this long without deducing what she was marking.

Ace pressed her face to his cut, breathing in the smell of leather and wind and man. It was a novel experience for her, being enveloped in so much maleness. She had only ever had one boyfriend, marrying him as soon as she turned 18. She had never been inclined to invite casual affection from the male acquaintances in her life. Besides, Tony had been insanely jealous, sure that his beautiful, wild in the sack wife had been screwing on the side. Honestly, she just believed in monogamy, the more fool her.

"Why didn't you call?" he asked quietly.

Ace tilted her head back so she could see his face, but didn't release her death grip on his waist. She just wasn't ready to let go of the only physical contact she'd had in the months since Tony's suicide.

"Happy, you switch prepays every few weeks, how the hell was I supposed to call you?" she snorted.

Happy's head snapped up and Ace stepped quickly back as Kozik's head peered around the corner. Happy read all the conclusions Kozik was arriving at as they crossed his face. When Kozik's eyes finally landed square with Happy's, Happy nodded once, enjoying the novelty of surprising the Tacoma SAA.

"Well alright, Killah, what's the plan here?" was all Kozik said.

Happy nailed Ace's gaze and asked the one question he was sure she wouldn't want to answer.

"How much, Ace?" he asked, daring her to look away, and stepping right up into her personal space when she tried it. "Ace…" he warned.

"Seventeen grand." She spat, sounding tired and very young. Kozik whistled quietly through his teeth, but neither Happy, nor Ace glanced away from each other.

"And where do these Bastardos operate out of?" he grilled, his vague plan solidifying the longer he stood so close to her.

"They own the pool hall just down the road on Main." She sighed, torn between relief that he was taking control and terror of what he planned to do. Happy nodded just once, his mind clearly made up.

"Get in there with Shark, baby, and close up shop. Pack up your rig, too, you ain't coming back here." He was pleased to note that despite her shock at the bomb he'd just laid on her, she didn't hesitate. Her eyes were round and her cheeks flushed, but with a final glance over her shoulder, Ace walked steadily back into the main shop and set about her business.

"Your plan, Killah?" Kozik prompted, without comment on the significance of what had just transpired.

"Put a bullet between his eyes, 20 grand in his mouth, and drop him on their doorstep. Then pack her shit and get her the fuck up out of Fallbrook." He laid out his plan, and then saw the uneasy look Kozik gave him. "What?"

"He's just a kid, Hap. Maaaaybe 16."

"Fucking baby gangsters, man." Hap growled, "I'm going to teach the little shit a lesson and send him back with a clear message about not touching what's mine."

Happy ducked back into the main shop and spent a moment just watching as Ace efficiently packed up her work area. Now that he knew she was fair game, he admitted privately just how appealing she was, with her golden skin and dark red hair. Each shoulder was capped in a quarter sleeve, the left for her Puerto Rican heritage, the right for her Irish. That her quarter sleeves were her only visible ink made him crazy to strip off the tank top that didn't quite meet her low slung jeans, and man did he have plans for that little strip of skin, and go exploring. Ave must have felt his eyes on her, because she turned and smiled at him, shrugging a little as she held out the picture in her hand. Happy didn't need to go to her to recognize the shot, it was one her husband had taken of her as she'd touched up the rows of smiling faces on his abdomen, he'd been stretched out on her table, one arm tucked under his head, and his face turned to her. Tony had known that Happy would never touch another man's wife, but it couldn't have escaped his notice that Ace was the only woman besides his mother that he kept coming back to, and Happy had never hidden that it was Ace he came to see.

Shark and Kozik stepped in, cutting off his view. Happy knew he had to let them know what the situation was, and why Ace wasn't at fault.

"Her old man offed himself after racking up an impressive debt to these Bastardos on cards and whores. They've been trying to collect from her since. I'm going to make sure it's clear that she's under the Sons protection, pay off the fucker's tab, and get her out of Fallbrook." He summed up the status quo in as few words as possible.

"Holy shit, Tony killed himself?" Shark turned to study Ace. "Is she ok?" He automatically asked Happy, knowing that the killer had a better bead on Ace's well being than any other human alive. He might be the _only _man alive, only person alive, that Ace would consider a friend now, besides maybe Delia, Happy's mother up in Bakersfield.

"Kozik, the closest nomads are 6 hours away. Could you get Jax on the line and ask for Tig, Opie, and Juice? Charming is only about 4 hours away, and I want backup because this guy isn't getting sent home to his buddies until Ace's whole life is erased." Happy pointedly ignored Shark's inquiry.

As Kozik stepped away, already dialing Jax, Ace filled his space. "Just an FYI, Ace's whole life isn't going to take much erasing." She informed him drily, "The cars were both repoed the week after the funeral, and I've been selling everything I can to try to pay off the credit cards that Tony maxed out. The house sold last month, I was planning to move out next week. I'm rocking Bill's old Buick for now."

Shark stepped behind Ace and rubbed her shoulders in a manner that was undoubtedly meant to be comforting. "Man, I'm so sorry about this whole mess, Ace." He said, squeezing one more time.

"Yeah, thanks, Shark." Ace replied as she ducked out from under his hands, sliding in next to Happy so that she faced him. Shark couldn't even be offended, he'd been here enough times to know better than to touch Ace, he'd just been hoping that Tony's death had changed the circumstances.

"Give Shark your keys, baby." Happy broke in. "Get the bikes turned around and pull the Buick right up to that door so our friend can ride in the trunk."

Hearing this, the gangster in the chair went nuts, straining against the duct tape restraints, muffled expletives pouring from his mouth. Happy's attention narrowed to the task at hand. He settled onto the rolling stool and started rummaging through the worktable's drawers, setting up a well of black ink and a well of yellow, then adding a new needle to the gun he'd pulled out the drawer.

"Bill's?" he asked Ace, verifying that the rig belonged to the shop owner. "You should call him and let him know I'm taking you out of here." He added, and Ace just nodded. "Hey," he said, rolling over to where she leaned against the wall, trapping her between his legs, his attention captured once more by that strip of skin between her shirt and waistband. He took the chance of resting his hands on her hips, rubbing lightly, predatorily pleased that she didn't shrug him off the way she had Shark. "As soon as I'm done with this jackass, we're all going to head back to your house, keep the bikes off the street, and we'll talk. You've got a couple of options, and I ain't gonna force into anything, other than putting Fallbrook in your rearview."

"Thanks, Hap. I'm glad you're here." It sounded like it physically pained her to admit that, so Happy smacked her lightly on the ass and just rolled back over to the tattoo chair as Shark and Kozik returned.

"Oh shit!" Kozik practically giggled with glee as he drank in the set up.

"Hold his head steady, Koz." Happy grinned, dropping the back of the chair as the boy started to throw himself violently from side to side. Happy pulled his piece and very clearly flicked off the safety and dug it into the kid's temple, all humor gone from his face. "You are going to want to stay _very still."_ He instructed. The kid nodded furiously then went still as Kozik climbed up him, clamping his rock hard forearms on either side of the boy's face. The gangster's eyes went wide and a muffled moan came from behind the duct tape across his mouth when he heard Happy fire up the tattoo gun.

"Juice's old lady is about to pop their kid out, so he ain't coming, but Chibs offered to take his place." Kozik filled Happy in as he held the kid down, the simple smiley face that the punk was going to be sporting on his forehead for eternity wasn't going to take long. "Jax also wanted to let you know that your _friend_ was welcome to seek shelter there."

Happy grunted with displeasure at the thought of sending Ace into the hands of the mother charter.

"You know we can find a place for her, too." Kozik added, not wanting to say too much if by some miracle Happy agreed to let him take Ace up to Tacoma. "And you'd have a place at the table. Just something to think about."

"Thanks, Koz." Happy muttered, putting the final touches on his piece of artwork. "It's going to be up to her, though. There's no way in hell I'm letting her go to the mother charter, their women and kids have taken more hits than the club, and Jax has gotten way too laid back with all that porn and Cartel money flowing in."

"Truth." Kozik agreed, hopping neatly off the chair. "Can we find some sleep, now?" he asked, rubbing a hand over his spiked blond hair.

"Yep." Happy agreed, landing a punishing blow to the kid's temple, knocking him out cold. "You ready, Ace?" he asked, looking at her for the first time since he began the artwork. Ace picked up her bag, unfazed by watching Happy work, just ready to move on. Her nerves were all shades of shot from the conversation she knew was barreling at her.

In no time at all, Ace backed into her little driveway, letting the guys pull their bikes past her into the garage. She pulled her bag over her shoulder and tucked the pistol into the waistband at her back, and climbed out of the car to find Happy looming over her again, not budging an inch. She wordlessly handed him the keys to retrieve their hostage from the trunk and dug her house key out of her pocket. Happy still hadn't moved away from her, so she stopped fussing and looked up at him, his face backlit by the dim porchlight. He looked strong and steady, and very sexy. She wondered how it was going to feel letting him go again if he let her be with him until he settled her wherever she was going. However it was going to feel, Ace was sure she wanted to take that gamble on him.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer-I do not own the Sons of Anarchy. I do own Shark, Ace, and a motorcycle riding husband of my very own.**

Ace led the Sons into what used to be her home, Happy was on her heels, with Kozik and Shark pulling the Bastardo along. There was a moment of silence as the men realized that when Ace had said she was selling everything, she had meant it. The living room was completely empty, barring two folding camp chairs leaning against the wall, and it was easy to see that the kitchen was similarly barren.

Ace smiled at them and gestured grandly to the little hallway, "The guest room is down the hall on the right, bathroom is just beyond. Welcome!" she chirped, pretending that four pairs of eyes weren't staring at her in disbelief. "I fucking told you that I was selling everything. I have a bed and some blankets, and my clothes, that's it. I wasn't bullshitting you. I might be broke as fuck, but I'm not going to owe anyone."

Kozik took control of the situation, pushing the Bastardo in front of him down the hall. "I'll bunk with him in the guest room, Shark, you stay out here and keep an ear out for our backup." His effort to get Happy and Ace some time and space to figure out their next move was painfully obvious, but everyone jumped at the chance.

Happy nodded at Ace to lead the way, reading her unease in the way her eyes darted around the little house, not landing anywhere for long. Her lips were tight, and her hands toyed with the strap of her bag, before she squared her shoulders and took off down the hallway. She stopped abruptly in her doorway and about faced to find Happy once again fully inside her personal bubble. Ace scrambled to find something to say, some way to acknowledge, no explain that no man beside Tony had ever been in this room.

"Ace." Happy graveled, "I know he was the only one." He took her firmly by the hips and pushed her back into the room, kicking the door shut behind them. Her eyes were huge as Happy crossed and flicked on the one lamp that rested on the carpet where a nightstand clearly used to live. Ace sat on the bed and pulled her boots and socks off, then stood up quickly, like the bed had burned her ass. She turned and boosted herself onto the top of the low dresser, marked for pickup in the morning by some guy off Craigslist. Happy planted his big body right in front of her, and she could feel her heart racing, knowing that the moment had come.

"The way I see it," he began "Is that you've got two choices. And I'm serious when I say that it's up to you, I'm not going to force you into anything. The first is that you pack whatever stuff you have left in that Buick and head up to Tacoma, from there we can buy you a new ID and send you anywhere in the country that isn't Cali. I'd like to keep you within a couple hours of a charter, so that the Sons can watch out for you, though." He watched as she rolled the idea over in her mind. She pursed her lips to one side and sucked on the inside of her cheek. Her breathing was quick and shallow, and did all kinds of really nice things to her tits. Happy knew that his next move was a high stakes gamble, but he hoped like hell that she was in for it, because he had wanted her naked and on a bed about 30 seconds after she'd told him her husband was dead.

"And my other choice?" Ace asked, her voice low, wetting her lips as she stared back at him. Her pulse was visibly hammering in her throat and she felt pleasantly lightheaded.

Happy couldn't help but step even closer, purposely crowding her. He snagged her left hand, surprising himself at what he was about to do.

"I'm your other choice. You'd bring only what could fit in a backpack and go on the road with me. I'd drop you at hotels nearby when I can't bring you on runs, maybe you can freelance at local shops while I'm on the road." Happy cleared his throat, which had zero effect on his grinding voice. "I fucking want you, Ace, at whatever cost."

"Jesus, Hector," she whispered, lapsing into her childhood habit of calling him by his given name, "You _know _I've always wanted you, too, but I just can't see what that would look like. I'd just ride along with you, and then wait while you were off on club business? How would I even know you were coming back? And I've never even _been _with anyone but-, and I don't know if I'd be any good, and what if you stopped wanting me?" she stopped talking when Happy's hand came up.

He'd only meant to put it over her mouth to stop her rambling, but the instinctual way she flinched back had him dropping her hand and pulling back from her. "Aw, fuck, sorry." She muttered, covering her mouth with both hands, knowing exactly how much she'd just revealed to Happy, because he never missed anything.

His eyes glittered dangerously and his hands clenched at his sides. "I only wish he hadn't been such a motherfucking coward, so I could kill him for you." He bit out. It took conscious effort to relax his hands, and he rolled his neck, suddenly exhausted by the night. He focused back on her, not sure he had the energy to convince her, but knowing that for him there wasn't a choice. He wanted her on the back on his ride for as long as he stayed on the road.

"I know who you are, Ace. And I really _like _knowing that there's not a man alive that's gotten a taste of that pussy." He heard her breathing change and stepped between her legs, hooking her knees over his forearms and pulling her right to the edge of the dresser, so she could feel his hard on pressed against her. He fucking _loved _the breathy moan that escaped her, and the way her hands had grabbed onto his biceps for balance. "And first thing in the morning, Ace, you and I are going to go down to the courthouse and change your last name to Perez…" he trailed off and kissed her left ring finger to make sure she understood, "because I'm sure that once I fuck you, I'll kill any man that touches you, Ace."

Ace couldn't find her voice to respond to him. The hysterical thought that this must be what falling down the rabbithole feels like spun through her brain before her attention turned back to trying to comprehend what was happening. She felt him grind his hard dick right into her, and although she saw it for the distraction technique it was, she couldn't help her head dropping back, exposing her throat to him. His hands came down on either side of her and she dragged her eyes open and her head up to find him nose to nose with her.

"You also know who I am, Ace. Don't expect me to wear a ring, and buy a house, and give you babies. I'm not that man, and I'm never going to be. I've been on the road since I could pull a throttle, and I'm not going to come off until I have to, so make sure this is what you want, because I fully intend for _this_," he emphasized with another slow grind, "To be the only dick your pussy ever sees, whether you change your mind or not."

Happy slid his right hand up her back and latched onto the back of her neck, tilting her face further back. Her breath was coming in pants, now, and her eyes were heavily lidded. With rock solid willpower, he stopped himself when her lips were less than an inch from his, needing to hear her say it before he took her for the ride of her life.

"What's it gonna be, Ace?" he breathed, and he could feel her trembling beneath his hand as her eyes focused back on his. He felt himself frozen in place as she pulled herself closer, her lips grazed his, and her eyes fluttered shut and then back open again.

"Yes." She moaned, her mouth pressed to his and then they were kissing, Happy immediately dominating her mouth. Every corner of Ace's attention was riveted on the taste of Happy in her mouth, and the feel of what promised to be an exquisitely perfect penis as he thrust it against her. He paused and pulled back as his hand reached the pistol tucked into her waistband and he grinned at her, slow and nasty, before drawing it out and inspecting it carefully.

"Happy…" she whined, unable to stop herself from sounding like a porn star. Ace wrapped her legs around Happy's hips, drawing his attention back to her.

"Nice piece." Happy complimented, then set it on the other end of the dresser. He shrugged out of his cut and laid it carefully down next to the pistol, adding his own SIG-Sauers to the pile. Happy reached for the bottom of his white t-shirt, but Ace's hands stilled him, grabbing the hem and sliding her hands up his sides. He ducked out of the shirt, and buried his face in her neck, biting and sucking and _tasting _her. He tugged inelegantly at her shirt, eager to have it hit the floor so he could finally get a good look at her spectacular rack.

Ace moaned as Happy's mouth pulled off her neck, but sat further up so that he could pull her shirt off over her head. She felt her face flush as his eyes zeroed in on her breasts, threatening to spill out of the black demi bra, her nipples were hard and clearly visible through the lace. Ace could barely keep her eyes open as Happy slid his hand quickly up her waist to cup her breasts, one in each of his large hands. They both moaned as he squeezed them roughly, pushing them up and in.

"Fucking perfect." Ace heard him mutter and he bent his head and bit down on the right nipple and then sucked it through the lace. She let out a keening cry as he traced a sloppy path to her left breast. His eyes flashed open and narrowed warningly at her and he let go of the breast his mouth had just abandoned and placed two fingers across her lips, enjoining discretion for his two brothers just outside the door. Her only response was to suck his fingers into her mouth, and Happy felt his cock kick at the sensation. Groaning, he bent his head to the dusky brown nipple begging for his mouth and complied.

When she thought she couldn't take it for a single second longer, Ace pulled his face up to hers and kissed him hard enough that one of his teeth cut her lip. His hands fumbled briefly at the clasp of her bra before he gave up and wrapped his fingers around the band, tugging it sharply down, freeing those perfect tits and trapping her upper arms against her sides. Happy broke away from her long enough to glimpse down at her and smile approvingly at the disheveled wanton he'd created. He made himself slow down, so that he could concentrate long enough to pop free the button of her jeans and pull the zipper down. Happy made sure her eyes were locked on his as he very deliberately grabbed fistfuls of her waistband, making sure to grab hold of her panties, too. Ace leaned back on her hands and lifted her hips so that he could pull them down her legs. His eyes followed the skin that was revealed, and he was as gentle as he could manage, freeing her feet from the skinny jeans.

Ace couldn't help letting her knees fall together, not sure at all whether Happy was going to like what he saw. She hated the sudden shiver of shyness that ran down her spine, and hated that she was dropping her eyes.

"Let me see you, querida." He demanded, stroking up and down her smooth thighs, loving the feel of her softness against the calluses on his hands. Ace's legs slowly eased apart and he couldn't help the surprised glance he shot her as her perfectly bare, obviously wet pussy came into view.

"Electrolysis." She explained succinctly, her cheeks flaming. "Years ago. I hope that's ok."

"Fuck. It's better than ok," he growled, impossibly harder than he'd been seconds ago, "You're fucking perfect, baby."

Happy captured her mouth again and let his right hand go to work prepping that pussy for him. He was desperate to make her cum all over his hand because he figured he wasn't going to last very long once he got inside her. He rubbed his middle and ring fingers through her slickness and eased them inside her, feeling like a caveman when she brought her left foot up onto the edge of the dresser, opening herself up to him even more.

Ace felt her body shaking and couldn't make it stop, she was completely overwhelmed by Happy's attentions. The heel of his hand dug into her pussy, right above the clit and she rubbed shamelessly against his hand. Her orgasm was tight in her belly, just out of reach.

"Baby, I need you to cum." Happy growled into her ear, "What do you need, here, baby?"

"Harder, do me harder, Hap!" she gasped, then moaned as he pushed her further back and tilted her pelvis. His fingers worked her pussy even harder and in minutes she was cumming, her mouth open, eyes closed, and Happy loved the look of her, all mussed and flushed. He loved it even more when she reached for the buckle of his belt, a satisfied, dreamy smile on her face.

Ace opened Happy's fly and reached down the front of his boxers with both hands. She was simultaneously thrilled and terrified by what she found there. She found Happy's eyes boring into hers and she bit her lip with trepidation. She slid her hands around and squeezed his ass once before pulling his jeans and boxers down as far as she could reach, then Ace sat back and watched as Happy pushed them the rest of the way down and kicked them off to the side. His dick was everything she'd hoped for, and then just a smidge more than she was sure she could handle. She licked her lips compulsively and heard Happy groan into her ear as he dropped his forehead to her shoulder. Ace weighed his heavy sac in her palm, enjoying the fleeting sense of power. Happy pushed her hands away and ducked, pushing his shoulder into her stomach and flipping her up, off the dresser.

"This ain't gonna last long, baby, but it's going to be a hard ride!" he smacked her ass for emphasis and headed for the bed, prepared to drop her from his shoulder. He felt her tense and then she began to push against his back.

"Hap, no, anywhere but the bed, please." Her voice was tiny, and terrified that he was going to lose her enchanting enthusiasm, he turned on his heel and finding nothing beyond the dresser they'd just vacated, he went to his knees and settled her on her back. When she opened her mouth, he moved quickly to cover it with his own, not wanting Tony to come between them right now. With a free hand, he groped for his jeans, and flipped open his wallet to retrieve the string of condoms inside. He rolled one on and then pulled Ace onto his lap, leaning back against the back. The feeling of her hot pussy sliding onto his dick almost set him over the edge. He held her hips firmly down, not letting her move; afraid he'd cum like a 12 year old discovering Penthouse for the first time if she did.

"You feel so good, Hap." Ace whispered, shifting her hips. With that small confession, any remnants of self control Happy had, disappeared, and he began to move. His hips slammed into her, one of his hands rocking her hips, and the other behind her head, keeping her close to him. He'd been right about not lasting long, but they were both slick with sweat when he gave in, biting her shoulder as he came, hard.

When his breathing finally slowed, Happy nudged his elbows in between them, pushing Ace back just enough to catch her face in his hands. He kissed her, hard, it was as close to tenderness as he could get for her. Ace's eyelids were heavy, he knew she had to be exhausted, and he'd been on the road for hours before stepping right into her fiasco tonight. He groaned and pulled her off his softening dick, wanting nothing more than to smoke a cigarette and pass the hell out. Ace lay on her side on the carpet and watched him as he pulled the comforter off the bed and covered her, then stood up and grabbed his jeans and boxers.

"Can I smoke in here?" he asked her as he headed into the tiny en suite bathroom.

"Sure." Ace yawned, "Ashtray is on the windowsill." And despite battling to stay awake to find out if Happy was going to actually sleep with her, her eyes slammed shut on her and she drifted to sleep.

**_A huge thank you to all my early readers! My inbox has been flooded with story alerts, it has been an amazing experience to get such a positive response right out of the gate like that! Coming up next is the arrival of the boys from Charming, a courthouse wedding, and the disposal of the Bastardo. If I can, I will finish up the next chapter and get it posted tomorrow; otherwise you'll have to wait until I get back from Rolling Thunder on Tuesday. If you're anywhere near DC and love motorcycles, this is an event you can't pass up, tons of fun! If you feel inclined to review, I'd love to hear from you, whether the review is good, bad, or ugly! Again, truly, thank you.**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer-I don't own the Sons of Anarchy. I do own this story, my original characters, and a brand spanking new set of rain gear for Rolling Thunder tomorrow.**

Happy came out of the little bathroom, jeans slung low on his hips, belt and top button undone. His back was still wet from the shower he'd just taken, washing 5 days of road dust down the drain. He stared down at Ace, curled in on herself, still asleep on the floor. Happy sighed, remembering the panic when they'd almost hit the bed earlier. Well fuck all that, he decided, and scooped her up, then settled her on the bed. Without opening her eyes, Ace picked her head up off the pillow and pouted her lips at him. He froze, studying her, waiting to see if she had something to say. After a long, uncomfortable moment, he realized that he was supposed to kiss her, this she was used to that constant affection. It seemed foreign to him, the only times he'd ever kissed a bitch, excepting his ma, was on the way to fucking. Happy just stooped and turned off the lamp.

"Get some sleep, Ace." He ordered, and headed out the door, shrugging his cut on over his bare shoulders.

In the hallway, Happy took note of Shark snoring in the open doorway of the guest room, and the Bastardo passed out cold in a corner. Kozik was nowhere apparent in the house, but the front door was ajar, and the faintest whiff of cigarette smoke lingered. Happy followed the trail, planting his ass on the top of the concrete steps that led up to Ace's door. He located Kozik by the gleam of his cigarette, in the shadows, leaning on the ugly Buick. Happy pull the prepay out of his pocket and dialed up Quinn, the Nomad President.

"Shark filled Quinn in earlier. Not that he isn't still going to need to hear from you." Kozik informed him, not making any move to join Happy on the stairs.

"Happy, you crazy son of a bitch, what the fuck happened to you out on the road?" Quinn's voice rang in his ear, and Happy sighed, not even sure what he needed to say.

"Hey Quinn. Shark gave you the basics, then?" was the only reply he had for his longtime brother.

"Yeah, he did. I mean, you grew up with Ace, right? I never really thought I'd see you with an old lady, but I can see why she'd make sense. You've been chasing her down for years."

"Kinda. My ma watched her after school when she was little. And I never meant to have an old lady, but Ace isn't the kind of woman that you fuck and duck. Shit, as of this moment I'm the only motherfucker alive whose touched her, you don't just walk out on that. You gotta pay the price if you want the ride. Besides, my ma would fucking murder me." Happy explained, and added a call to his mother to the growing list of shit to take care of in his head.

"No shit?" Quinn asked, the shock in his voice clear.

"Yep. Now, I think I'm gonna need some time off of runs to get some shit settled. I gotta head up to Indian Hills and Tacoma, hit Church at both places, maybe go see my ma, too. After that I'll come see you, man, and get back to work." Hap laid out what little he had figured out so far.

"Yeah, brother, you know you can take as much time as you need. But are you really planning on taking your old lady on the road with you? I mean, you could have a seat at any table on the West Coast." Quinn's voice was uncharacteristically serious. "I'll release you for this, brother."

"Fuck you, Quinn. I've sat at Tacoma and Redwood, and there's too much bullshit. All I want is the road."

"Well, what about staying on with me, but dropping your girl within reach of a charter? What you do, well, there's a good reason Nomads don't typically have old ladies." Quinn reasoned.

"No. You think, after I just told you that the only other man that's fucked her is dead, that I'm going to leave her under the protection of some charter? I'm not going to let her get raped like Gemma, or kidnapped like Tara, or fucking beat to death like LuAnn! I can keep her safe just fine on the road, and I want her the hell off the grid for a while until these Bastardos forget she ever existed." Happy's speech was uncharacteristically long, something that Quinn noted uneasily.

"Your old lady, your call, Happy. Check in with me when you leave Fallbrook." Quinn ended the call quickly, not wanting to rile up his brother any more.

"Fuck." Happy cursed as he shoved the phone back into his jeans and pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

"You need a Valium, Killah?" Kozik asked, pushing off from the Buick and moving to stand in front of his brother. "I got a few left after knocking the baby gangster out on them, earlier. He won't wake up until we're rolling out in two days."

Happy just shook his head and smoked. He didn't feel the need to fill a silence the way Kozik did, and wanted to hold his peace for as long as he could, because he knew Kozik was offended as hell at being left out of the loop. And just like that, Kozik opened the can.

"We shared a table for years, brother, and been brothers for 15. Why the fuck is it that everyone else knew about this chick before I did?" he demanded.

"It ain't been like that, Koz. It's not like I've been waiting around for her to leave her old man, I could've probably gotten her to do that years ago if I wanted to. But, truth, we've got a lot of history." Happy pulled his cut open, laying his ink on display and pointed to the first smiley face he'd ever gotten, "That right there? First club hit and she inked it at 14 years old. I never let her retouch it, which I'm pretty sure pisses her off. My ma used to watch her after school when she was a kid. And I just fucked her 4 months after her old man kicked it. I don't really see as I've got any choice but to take her on."

"I mean, I kinda get it, man, she's obviously smoking hot and from the sounds she was making, enjoyed every second of the pipe you were laying, but why'd you do her? You could've just relocated her anywhere in the country and kept the setup you've had all these years."Kozik reasoned out.

"A woman like that is going to land in someone's bed, Koz." Happy explained patiently. "And fuck if it was going to be anyone else's. Any civilian and I'd beat him down, and if she fell into bed with a club man, I'd probably kill him. Safer for everyone if she's with me."

"Alright, man. I don't really get it, but I'm happy for you. And listen, I found a Harley shop an hour away and ordered you a bitch seat, it'll be here before noon, so you'll be good to go. Plus, Chibs got ordained on the internet for Jax and Tara's wedding, so he can officiate for you."

"Thanks brother." Happy stubbed out the remains of his smoke and stood, hugging Kozik and allowing him to rub his bald head. "I didn't even fucking think of that. Fuck, man, it's all about to change."

Kozik laughed easily, "Go get some sleep brother, I'll stay out here and wait for the Charming boys, shouldn't be more'n an hour."

With a nod, Happy went back inside to Ace. He found her lying face down on top of the black comforter; she'd gotten up and slipped on a pair of shorts so tiny that most of her asscheeks were hanging out. Happy definitely approved. The room was dark, but he could make out all the ink spread across her back and down her legs. When she didn't move, Hap dropped his jeans on the floor and folded his cut on the dresser, then slid onto the bed beside her. The obvious masterpiece was a row of book spines across her lower back. He leaned in and read a few of the titles, "The Art of War", "Ready Player One", "1984", and the local yearbook from the year she'd graduated. He moved on, noting the colorful patch of fireworks high on her right side. Continuing down, he scowled at the jaunty pink bows just below her ass that topped a line running straight down the back of each leg, a clear nod to the pin-up culture in tattooing. He hoped he never found out who had inked those for her.

Happy lay back, tucking on hand behind his head and the other inside those little shorts, cupping one full asscheek, and slept.

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace awoke to the sound of large males snoring. Cracking an eye open, she judged the time to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 7 in the morning. She was amused to find that Happy's hand had a pretty firm grip on her behind, even as he contributed his own snoring to the symphony. She slid carefully out from under his hand, watching to make sure she didn't wake him in the process. Sitting at the foot of the bed, Ace rubbed her hands over her face, trying desperately to catch her brain up to the facts.

"What's doing, Ace?" his voice was even rougher first thing in the morning, and Ace glanced over her shoulder to see his slitted eyes on her.

"Just trying to wrap my brain around it all, Happy." She smiled at him, a little sadly. "I was waiting to see if I'd feel different. I mean, up 'til now…" She gestured vaguely at all her nakedness, "I guess I feel kind of guilty. Is that stupid?"

"Yeah, it really is." Happy laughed, and she giggled, too. She crossed her arms across her chest as she turned to him. He wasn't wild about her covering up, but didn't mind the way it pushed her tits up, either. "We got a lot of shit to get done, today, Ace. How about you come up here and start it off right, since you woke me up so damn early?" His easy grin and heavy lidded eyes promised all kinds of nasty goodness, and he palmed his own dick, clearly hard under his boxers. Ace felt her body flush straight down to her core, and crawled back up the bed, prepared to give him a very good morning, and to hell with Tony, she had a man right here.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer-I do not own the Sons of Anarchy. I do own No Other Man Alive, my OCs, and some incredibly awesome boots.**

Ace and Happy stood with their hands clasped in the lobby of Fallbrook's municipal building, people streaming around the knot of black clad bikers. The civilians were staring, no doubt because the Scot presiding over the group was determined to make a spectacle.

"And do you, Hector Alonzo Perez, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Chibs grinned at the pair, knowing that this was likely his first and only time to use Happy's legal name without reaping the consequences.

"I do." Happy replied, ready to have the circus over with. In the 4 short hours since Ace had tried to duck out of bed, he'd been working to tie up all her loose ends. A quick trip to a local lawyer took care of the last vestiges of responsibility regarding the house. The new owner of the dresser had picked it up. The only major hiccup had come when he'd walked in on Ace sitting on her closet floor trying to figure out how to pack for the road. A quick trip out to his Harley to see the contents of his hardbags solved the problem handily. He'd expected Ace to freak out and demand more space, but instead she'd marched back into the closet, grabbed a handful of tiny underwear, 5 tank tops, a spare bra, a pair of skinny jeans, some socks, and a hoodie. She shoved it all in the same bag that held her tattoo rig and sketchbook and pronounced herself done. Even Tig had been impressed.

"And….?" Prompted Kozik, laughing. The men broke out in a chorus of guffaws as Happy rolled his eyes and sighed.

"And I promise to treat you as good as my leather and ride you as much as my Harley." Happy groaned, shaking his head as his brothers erupted into cheers. Ace's mouth hung open and her eyes were huge, but she recovered quickly, regaining her composure.

"Alright, no rings, so then by the power vested in me by the lovely state of California, I now pronounce you man and wife. Kiss your bride and let's go file this shite!" Chibs pronounced grandly. After a brief pause for the newly married couple to kiss, Chibs led the group back into the office they'd left 15 minutes prior, after obtaining the marriage license.

"Can I just borrow your pen, love?" he inquired as he snagged it off the poor clerk's workspace. He signed his name with a flourish under officiant, passing the pen and paper back to Happy and Ace for them to fill in their signatures, followed by Kozik and Shark for witnesses. He handed it back to the clerk, then, ignoring the dumbfounded expression on her face. She stamped and sealed the top copy and handed it back to Chibs.

"Congratulations, then."

And just like that, Ace went from Reyes to Perez. Happy rushed her through applying for a new Social Security card and driver's license, not wanting to leave her any ties to her old name or life.

Out in front of the building, as the guys all lit cigarettes and pulled on their helmets, Happy tucked the papers into the small box sitting on the back seat of the Buick. He double checked with Ace before sealing it up.

"This is all you want to keep from the house?" he pressed.

"Yep. I've been trying to tell you that I can travel light." She replied, sliding her arms around his waist. Happy could never let Ace hang on him like he'd seen Tara do to Jax, or even Gemma, when Clay had been President, but he didn't complain this time. He let himself fall back against the Buick, taking her with him. He smoked his cigarette, keeping one arm around Ace.

"I'll follow you to the post office and we'll get that sent off to my ma's house." He told her, "Then we'll get back to the house and Shark and Kozik will take the rest of your shit out to Goodwill. Once it's dark, I will ditch the baby gangster, and we'll put this place in the rearview."

"Mmmm," She purred into his chest, "Sounds perfect."

"Quit it, Ace," he warned, "We got a long ride tonight and I wouldn't want you to be too sore for it."

"Come on!" Tig's nasal drawl sounded, "You two can play footsie later. I can't believe I'm signing on to watch you two fucking canoodle all the time."

Tig had presented Happy with his letter of release from Redwood that morning when the boys from Charming had rolled into Fallbrook. Happy hadn't been particularly surprised, but still questioned the former SAA's motives and warned Tig that Ace would be coming on the road with him.

"_Yeah, man, it's just that since Clay stepped down and Opie took the right hand seat, it ain't the same club. With the porn and the tat shop, we're barely an outlaw charter anymore. I just want to be out on the road again, it's gotten too soft at the table." Tig explained._

"_I could use someone on the road, anyway, I think Shark's planning on staying on with Jury's crew for a while. We'll hit up Tacoma, then go see Quinn. I owe him a visit." Happy was glad to have another enforcer on the road, especially with Ace to consider._

When the entire, rowdy crew arrived back at the house, they made extremely quick work of what little was left. Ace had been slowly dismantling her life ever since she'd learned what kind of trouble Tony had left her in, and watching the last bits get loaded up and broken down felt like the emotional equivalent of ripping off the band-aid. Shark honked and drove the Buick off down the road with the last of the clothing and bedding. Tig and Kozik had broken down the bed and curbed it before the crew had gone to the courthouse that morning. Ace stood in her postage stamp living room and spun slowly around, saying goodbye to the life she thought she had.

"It'll get easier once you're away." The quiet, low voice startled Ace and she turned to find the big, bearded Sergeant-At-Arms from Charming coming out of the hallway.

"Uh, Opie, right?" Ace asked, uneasy.

"Yep. I lost my wife a few years back, under some fucked up circumstances. I just wanted you to know that it gets easier. It was weird with Lyla-that's my old lady, now-at first, but it doesn't feel wrong anymore. And I don't get all twisted over what happened with Donna." Opie explained awkwardly, all blue-collar uncomfortable with talking about feelings, but obviously feeling like something needed to be said. "So yeah, just be good to Hap, he's a really cool dude, ya know? Come out when you're ready, I've got some wedding presents from Lyla and Gemma that you're going to need."

"Thanks, Opie." Ace smiled a little sadly, and backed out of his way, preemptively avoiding any chance of being within hugging distance. She wondered what fucked up circumstances caused Opie's wife to die, and made a mental note to ask Happy about it.

Ace emerged from the house to find her new husband watching in dismay as Tig and Kozik stripped off the seat and pegs from his Harley. The two men kept up an impressive and constant stream of insults and arguments. Ace couldn't tell if they were lifelong enemies or best friends. "Do they hate each other or have they just been married a really long time?" she asked Happy, just as the entire yard happened to go silent. Ace was mortified, her face turning red as she slid partially behind Happy for protection, but the men all just laughed loudly. Happy pulled her around in front of him, just his hands resting on her shoulders.

"Yeah, she's got it all figured out, huh, Happy?" Tig sneered at them, "Just so you know, though, he's the bitch, not me." He addressed her, pointing the allen key at Kozik.

"Duly noted." Ace piped up, causing Tig's head to snap right back to her in disbelief.

"With a mouth like that, she must be able to suck the chrome off a tailpipe, huh?" Tig asked and finished pulling the seat off.

"Aww, no one sucks a dick better than you, Tiggy!"Kozik added, saving Happy from having to figure out how to defend his woman's honor and her blow job skills in the same breath.

"You just wait til we get up to Tacoma, asswipe, they're going to love watching me beat the piss outta their SAA." Tig informed him, then got distracted by the seat in his hands. "Is this a '12 Brawler?" he asked Happy. At Happy's nod, he turned it over in hands, squeezing it experimentally. "Think I can nab it? It's not like you can take it with you for later."

Ace glanced over her shoulder just in time to catch the pained expression flash across Happy's face.

"Sorry." She mumbled.

"It's no big, Ace, just go try on the shit Opie brought up for you." He replied, giving her a shove toward the open duffle on the driveway.

She pulled out the items one by one, starting with the low profile Outlaw flat black helmet. She quickly braided her red hair back and pulled the helmet on, fumbling with the buckles. She followed that with the black leather gloves and many zippered jacket. Once attired, she sat on the pavement to pull on the heavy, leather boots. The sun was blocked out, and Ace looked up to find Opie leaning over her, offering his hand to help her up. She took it, after a quick glance at Happy to verify that it was alright.

"It's all new, except for the jacket. Gemma said that it's "vintage" and that if you liked it, obviously you had some taste. Does everything fit? We were kinda guessing on sizes based on what Koz said, and we had Happy check your shoes so we could get the boots right."

"Yeah, everything is great, thanks Opie. And tell Lyla and Gemma thanks, too." Ace replied, and peered around Opie, looking for Happy.

"Right here," he spoke, coming up next to her, "You look like a real riding bitch, Ace. It's good." She didn't have to reply, because Happy wrapped her braid around his hand and yanked her head back, kissing her hard, hard enough for her to taste blood. "Hurry up and get inside, I called Shark to pick up some food, and I'd like to fuck you on the kitchen counter before he gets here." Ace's belly twisted up in the most delightful way, and she pulled Happy along by the hand as she ducked around the back and into the little kitchen.

Happy prowled around the house, locking all the entrances, not wanting to be disturbed. When he turned back into the kitchen, Ace was already naked.

"Good girl." He muttered, and crossed the distance in two easy strides. He didn't give her time to catch her breath before he was on her. Happy thrust his tongue into her mouth, loving the way she moaned into his mouth. He pushed her back and up, so that she was balanced on the edge of the counter. He deliberately drew back to watch as he slid two fingers inside her, she stared back at him, her eyes already heavy and desperate. Happy rubbed just his thumb across her clit, wanting to get her close to the brink quickly. He was so engrossed with watching her face and then his fingers disappearing into her pink pussy that he was caught way off balance when she cupped one breast in her own hand and squeezed.

"Oh fuck." He growled, then pulled his hand from her and sucked his fingers dry, pleased to hear the greedy whine come from Ace. He pulled her from the counter and spun her. He undid his belt and jeans with one hand, the other one between her shoulder blades, holding her down. Condom on and cock in hand, he kicked her feet wide with his boots.

"Hold on." He warned her and then, knees bent, pushed into her on one stroke. They groaned together, and he moved his hands to her ass, controlling the pace. They fucked hard, his hips slapping into her, leaving the skin of her thighs and ass red from the impact. His balls tightened, and he barely kept himself from cumming when he felt her reach down and start rubbing herself. He pistoned even harder, spreading her cheeks wide and praying that she came soon. No sooner had the thought passed through his mind, than she came, clamping down on his cock with a keening cry. Happy silently thanked the gods and then followed suit, one big hand falling to her shoulder to keep her ass nice and snug while he recovered. After a long minute, he pulled out and tucked himself back in his boxers, pulling himself together in less than a minute.

Ace laughed drily as she pulled off a paper towel, cleaning herself up. It was the perfect visual for how she felt with him. In less than a minute, Happy looked completely unaffected by their exertions, while she stood naked and debauched in a kitchen.

"You good?" He asked, and pulling on her braid again, kissed her. Her core throbbed a little when she tasted herself on his tongue, but she just nodded when he released her lips. "I like the braid." He added with a grin, leaving back on the opposite counter and watching Ace put herself to rights.

When they unlocked the back door to go back outside, Happy and Ace found all the men standing around smoking and eating. At the sound of the door, though, they all set their plates down and stuck their smokes in their mouth and applauded.

"Fuck all of you." Happy laughed and crossed to the food spread on the hood of the car.

**No Other Man Alive**

When the sun dipped low on the horizon, the gathered Sons all stood and attended to their last minute details. Happy finished balancing his and Ace's combined possessions in his hard bags, Chibs and Shark stacked the very last of the trash neatly on the tree lawn, and all the Harleys were lined up for a quick exit.

"Ready?" Happy questioned Ace as they moved to the house. Her throat was tight, so she just nodded and tucked the helmet awkwardly under arm.

The small living room seemed unbearably crowded, with all the big men gathered in a loose circle. Happy tucked Ace in behind the wall of bodies, just inside the door and then stepped through to the center.

"Alright, once I'm done with this asshole, we're all going to follow Ace to the tattoo shop. Tig, I want you to stick close to her the entire time I'm gone. Kozik, you can follow the car and guard my six. When I'm back, we're all rolling immediately; I don't want us getting caught with our pants down if the Bastardos manage to follow me back. When we get to the I-5, we'll split up. Alright, Kozik, go get him, I wanna be out of this fucking town yesterday."

Kozik dragged the young man to stand in the middle of the floor and ripped the tape from his mouth with one yank. The kid immediately started cursing and threatening, his eyes narrowed petulantly at Ace, who pulled further back, sliding in behind Tig. With a vicious roar, Happy pistol whipped the punk across the face, and he feel to his knees with help from a kick dealt by Kozik. The Sons all laughed, low and mean. Happy stepped in front of the kid, dark and dangerous. He holstered his SIG, and pulled his shirt up, exposing the tattoos on his stomach. His face was in shadow, but his eyes were hard. Happy spread his arms wide and turned in a slow circle, making sure the kid got a really great view of him and his cut.

"My name is Happy. I'm a Nomad of the Sons of Anarchy. The entire West Coast knows me as the Tacoma Killer. And if you, or any of your pussy friends even _considers _laying a single finger on what's mine, I will put a bullet neatly through that smiley face on your forehead." With that he put a hand inside his cut, causing the kid to recoil quickly, which made the Sons laugh again. Happy just pulled out a brown envelope filled with cash and held it up. "20 grand. Ashley Reyes has no more business with the Bastardos. Load him up." Happy turned and walked out without a thought for the boy that glared at his back.

**No Other Man Alive**

Once at the shop, Ace slipped in the back as Happy took off in the Buick with the kid tucked neatly in the trunk. She was surprised to find that Tig took his orders very seriously, stepping quickly in front of her to enter the shop. Once he'd assessed that there wasn't any danger, he nodded at her to get on with her business.

"Be quick, dollface."

Ace nodded greetings to her former coworkers as she crossed to Bill's workspace, glad that they were all busy with clients and couldn't grill her on her sudden departure. When she got to Bill, she held up the envelope with the power of attorney and house key in it and placed it on his desk. Suddenly incapable of speech, she flung her arms around the elderly man and hugged him tight. He rubbed her back soothingly, and then put her away from him.

"You're sure this is what you want to do?" Bill asked her quietly, pointedly ignoring Tig's glare.

"Yeah, Bill, I'm good. I'll miss you, though." She replied, stepping back toward Tig, easing his tension a little. It hadn't occurred to her that Tig would take Happy's orders so seriously, but she found that she didn't want to make it difficult for him. "Should we go wait outside?" She asked Tig, wanting to get it right, and when he looked relieved and nodded, she knew that she had.

"Thanks, Bill. I'm sure we'll cross paths again." She said over her shoulder.

"Anytime, Ace. You know that if you need a job anywhere on the Coast, you just drop my name and you'll be fine. Be safe." Was Bill's reply, as she headed for the door.

In the parking lot, Ace rebraided her hair and pulled on her leather and helmet. She flinched, and turned panicked eyes on Tig when 4 shots rang out and the distinct sound of shattering glass followed.

"That's Hap. We should probably mount up. You just stand over by his bike, he'll want to get on first." Tig instructed. The parking lot exploded with the sound of Harleys roaring to life, the reverberations bouncing off of the neighboring walls and echoing back. Tires screeched as Happy slammed the Buick into park and leapt out of the driver's seat, tossing the keys to a waiting Bill.

"Thanks!" Happy yelled over the deafing sound of the motorcycles. He snatched his helmet from his handlebars, mounted and kicked the stand up. He nodded to Ace, who scrambled awkwardly onto the bitch seat behind him. As soon as she was settled, he started up and shot off down the road, all the Sons behind him.

Ace only looked back once, then wrapped her arms tighter around Happy's waist and tried to hunker down for the long night's ride.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer-I do not own the Sons of Anarchy (boo!), but I do own this story, my original characters, and a new DILLIGAF sticker for my DOT helmet.**

Back in Fallbrook, Carlos Rivera suffered the indignity of being found hog tied on the ground with $20k stuffed in his mouth. It was even more unfortunate that his half brother, Romeo, the leader of the Bastardos was in attendance. The last 36 hours had been a repeated exercise in humiliation, the crowning jewel being the beating he'd received by one of Romeo's brutes all while having to listen to his half brother extol on all the shortcomings of "that useless bitch" that had taken up with their shared father and produced Carlos, who was equally as useless. As Carlos cleaned himself up in the dirty bathroom mirror, he turned the image of Happy's cut over and over in his mind, vowing to bring it back as a gift to his brother, and he might just bring a little something back for himself.

**No Other Man Alive**

The first hour riding bitch was exciting. Ace felt light and free and fast, anchoring herself to the man she'd never even dreamed could be hers. She laughed; thrilled to be on the road, full of dreams about how it would be. She wondered if it there would always be another Nomad with them, or if there would be days and weeks spent with just her and Happy. She hoped there would be, they had so much to learn about each other. Ace felt like she had a million questions going through her head, which was extremely frustrating, given that she couldn't actually ask any of them.

She figured the club came first, much like her life as a Marine wife, but where did that physically leave her? Happy had seemed pretty outspoken, well as outspoken as Happy ever was, about not staying in one place with her. Ace knew that his work for the club wasn't exactly something she could simply tag along for. Besides, Ace really couldn't picture herself spending much time without her tat gun in her hand. Which reminded her that she had a whole lot of drawings in her sketch book that would look amazing on Happy's lean, tanned torso.

Ace's second hour riding bitch found her dry heaving off to one side after catching a really juicy bug to the mouth. She could hear Happy cursing into the wind, and felt him shift to counterbalance. When she relaxed back into place, Happy cocked his head questioningly. Ace gave him a thumbs up and resumed fantasizing about ink roadmap she wanted to lay out on his skin, with all roads leading back to her. Even back when she had been a kid, Ace hadn't ever seen Happy with a woman, but she knew all too well that he was a man who got what he wanted. For one panic filled moment, Ace was afraid she would dry heave again. There would likely be women who had fucked her man at every single place they stopped at. Happy really didn't mean to continue to fuck other women and be with her, too, did he? Well, and so what if he did? He also just pulled her out of the perilous position her first husband had left her in, married her, and took her out on the road with him. Ace put a much higher price on being the woman that Happy had been coming back to for over a decade than where he put his dick. She knew he trusted her, and that was the thing that mattered.

The third hour had Ace gritting her teeth. Her tailbone was sore, and her hips were cramping, and to top it all off, she had to pee. She braced her hands on the sissy bar behind her and stretched, trying to get some relief. She realized her mistake in not warning Happy when she heard him curse and correct the bike's course again.

"Sorry!" Ace yelled into his ear, "But I really have to pee and my ass is killing me. Can't we stop for a minute?"

The only response she got was a violent upshift, as Happy pulled ahead of Tig and Shark at 85 miles per hour.

Ace glanced around the truck stop warily. It was just after one in the morning, and the men milling around looked hard and dangerous. She glanced back over her shoulder, searching out Happy, but found him right behind her.

"Did you really think I was going to send you in there alone?" He asked her drily, "I'm pissed that it's taking us for-goddamn-ever to make it to Indian Hills, but that don't mean I'm going to leave you unprotected. Come on, Tig's gonna lose his shit if this takes more'n a minute."

Ace chastised herself for being surprised when Happy followed her right into the little 3 stall Ladies room, checking to make sure it was empty, then flicking the lock shut and planting his back against the door.

"You know, you could have been equally as effective on the outside of the door." Ace called from inside her stall. She hovered over the seat, suffering from an embarrassing case of performance anxiety. The silence in the bathroom stretched out until Happy wordlessly turned the water on full blast. The relief was instantaneous. Ace busied herself washing her hands and face while Happy headed into the stall, not even bothering to shut the door behind him.

"I swear I'll be better, Hap." Ace sighed, her eyes downcast as he emerged, still tucking himself into his boxers.

"It's fine, Ace." Happy barked, "You've hardly ever been on a Harley, much less for distance like this. It's my fault for assuming you'd handle it like a man, because you so clearly aren't."

Happy held off on fastening his jeans, opting instead to press Ace back against the sink. He really liked getting all into her personal space, it unnerved her and turned her on all at the same time. It was really too easy to wind her up. A hand on the back of her neck had Ace's head falling back to meet his gaze, and she quirked an eyebrow in response to the sudden hunger she found there.

"But Tig and Shark are outside with the motorcycles…"she protested weakly as Happy's mouth descended to hers.

"Fuck 'em." Happy growled in her ear as he moved to bite her neck. She hummed in approval as his hot mouth worked her neck in just the right spot. Ace tilted her hips, taking full advantage of the hard dick grinding into her. She'd just reached for his waistband when a heavy knock landed on the door.

"Come on, take it next door and pay the hourly rate with the rest of the pros!" Came the gruff voice from the other side of the door.

Happy laughed low at the horrified look on Ace's face. Her cheeks were red, her eyes were wide, and she had one hand covering her mouth in mortification.

"I can't go out there; he thinks I'm a hooker!" She hissed at Happy as he put himself to rights and tugged her toward the door.

Happy pulled the door open quickly, glaring at the short, fat truck stop manager. The guy backed up, quick to get out of the biker's way. If he didn't recognize the cut, he still knew what a cut like that meant.

"She ain't a whore, she's my wife." He growled as he pulled Ace out toward the parking area.

"S-sorry, ma'am."

"Fuck! How long does it take a bitch to piss?" Tig yelled as soon as they came into sight. "We're never gonna make it to Indian Hills at this pace. Hell, my grandma fucks faster than we're moving."

"Back off, Tig." Happy warned, pushing Ace gently toward his ride, stopping to confer with the griping Tig. "She's tired, and she's not used to riding bitch."

Tig glared around Happy at the obviously tired woman leaning against the Harley. He shook his head, then rubbed his face and rolled his eyes at Happy.

"Fuck it, there's a motel about 20 miles up that doesn't charge by the hour. Let's hole up for the night. It's only another 4 hours to Jury's place, and all his whores will be rested by the time we get there if we leave by noon." Tig explained, covering up any kindness with the self-serving explanation.

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace lay in the dark of the Days Inn room, dead tired, and her mind racing.

"Hap?" She rolled on her side, barely able to make out the big form on the bed across the nightstand. When he grunted to acknowledge that he was still awake, she continued. "I know the club comes first and all, but what about me? Who am I supposed to be when we get there tomorrow?" Happy sighed, hearing the anxiety in her voice.

"You're my old lady. You will respect the club and its officers, but your absolute loyalty will always lie with me. To the club, and to outsiders, your entire world is going to begin and end with me. Any need you have, is mine to deal with. " He explained, his voice all gravel.

"Okaaay." Ace answered, "I can do that."

"I know you can." Was his quick response. "If you're half as focused as you were on that shithead you were married to for so long, you'll be a natural. And I won't ever leave you in the wind to pay for me. I protect what's mine, and keep it."

"I know." Happy smiled into the dark, pleased to hear the response.

"Listen, the club exists outside the law to protect a way of life. At the root of it, Sons are family men, and charters exist so those guys can kick back in their off time with their old ladies and rugrats. The rest of us, guys like me, we make it happen. And even though the club comes first, if you prove your loyalty to me, and to the club, there isn't a Son alive that won't take a bullet for you. Now go to sleep, I'm tired."

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy woke slowly, noting the quiet and orienting himself before even opening his eyes. He leisurely contemplated the change in his life and decided that having an old lady around for a morning fuck was a definite perk. His imagination ran wild, picturing the look on her face when he rolled her onto her back for a slow, sweaty fuck. Picking his head up and opening his eyes, ready to follow through, his chest got tight when he realized Ace wasn't sleeping in the bed across from him. Happy was up in a flash, noting the time, 10:00, and pulling his jeans on as he crossed far enough to see that the bathroom was empty. He burst out the door into the sunlight with his SIG in hand.

"I'm here." Ace's voice came from the vicinity of his feet. He lowered his weapon and shielded his eyes against the glare to take her in. She was barefoot, but dressed, sitting with her back to the wall immediately next to their motel room door. Her small duffel was open next to her, and from his vantage point, Happy could see that her own gun was locked and cocked. He heartily approved of that, even if he couldn't figure out how the sneaky bitch had gotten past him and out the damn door. The sketchbook in her lap caught his eye. He held his hand out and she handed it up to him without hesitation.

"I couldn't get back to sleep," Ace explained, "And I've been thinking about adding to your ink since the last time you came around, so I came out here to draw for awhile."

"Yeah, you got work to do anyway." Happy absentmindedly replied, engrossed in flipping through the sketchbook. Most were generic pieces, impressive little bits of art that could be transferred to almost any client. Others were obviously drawn with specific people in mind, and there was a whole section devoted to Marine inspired art, a nod to the majority of her clientele. He paused when he flipped to a West Coast graffiti of his own name, and in the corner, a deck of cards topped by an ace of hearts. When he looked down, Ace was studiously packing away her supplies, very deliberately not looking at him. She pushed against the wall to stand, and true to form, Happy made sure that she didn't have a single inch of wiggle room when she was on her feet. He flipped the book around so she could see what had snagged his attention. He moved in even closer so that she could feel his hard on.

"I want to put this clear across your shoulders so every motherfucker out there knows exactly who your old man is." He growled, and began to push her back into the room, more than ready for the slow grind he'd been expecting when he woke up.

Ace whimpered, allowing him to direct her. The possessive note in his voice alone was enough to make her wet and needy. Hap closed the door and locked it, pinning her against it with his hips as he fumbled behind him to lay down the SIG. Once he had both hands free, he put them to good use, freeing her tits from her shirt. He groaned upon discovering that she hadn't bothered with a bra. Incapable of any speech, he just nodded toward the bed and followed, enjoying the view as she wiggled out of her jeans and scooted back to lean on her elbows. He dropped his own jeans and enjoyed the slide up her skin, cool from the morning air.

After a preliminary check to make sure she was ready for him, Happy pushed into her. His hips kept her knees spread wide and he kept her close, her face tucked right into his neck. He moved slowly, grinding hard against her, and paying very close attention to every moan and whimper. Happy played her very deliberately, building her tension steadily, so that she was panting against his neck, begging to cum. When he finally let her cum, the grip on his cock almost pushed him to the edge, but he gritted his teeth and rode out her come down before pulling out and flipping her flat on her stomach. In this position, Ace's pretty pink pussy was so tight that he couldn't help cursing as he entered her.

"I can't wait to see my name all over you the next time I fuck you from behind." He groaned, before he lost all self control and slammed into her, cumming nice and hard.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer-I very sadly, still don't own Sons of Anarchy. I do own all my OCs, this story, and 5 hidden tattoos.**

Happy killed his motor and swung off, beyond ready for the road's end and a very large drink. He and Ace had fallen back to sleep that morning, and they'd been woken rudely by the sound of Shark and Tig hammering on the door, an hour past checkout time. The subsequent scramble to hit the road had left him pissed off and $80 lighter. Once they'd been tearing up the miles, he'd found out that he still had to stop every couple of hours for Ace to use the bathroom and walk around, both luxuries he would have foregone in favor of getting the fuck to where they were going.

Now, finally at Jury's brothel-slash-clubhouse, the men of Indian Hills were starting to gather round, yelling greetings and insults about how close to church he'd arrived. Happy left Ace to get herself off the bike. As much as he enjoyed feeling her legs wrapped around him while they were fucking, he was unused to being touched so much and needed a little distance. After a few back-slapping hugs from his Nevada brothers, he turned to check her progress and frowned to find Shark hovering near her.

"Shark!" He barked, waving him forward as the knot of men started toward the clubhouse. He noted Tig stalking along behind Ace, but that didn't bother him the way Shark's solicitude did.

Ace watched with trepidation as every single man disappeared inside the building. Happy hadn't even told her what she was supposed to or where to go. And she had to cocksucking motherfucking pee again. Gritting her teeth, Ace turned back to the motorcycle and busied herself pulling her small duffel from the hardbags, and replacing it with her helmet and gloves. At a loss, and with no one in sight, she paced to the other side and opened the other hardbag, rooting through Happy's assorted clothes and ammo before capturing the rag and can of Stripper Juice she was hunting for. She began to spray and wipe down the Harley methodically, exactly as she'd watched Happy do the night before, praying that by the time she was done her bladder hadn't exploded, and that her old man would be available to direct her to a bathroom.

She'd just finished with the wax on, wax off routine and was stowing the rag and can back in the hardbag when a high pitched voice cut into Ace's inner 'do NOT pee' monologue.

"Happy _really _doesn't like it when anyone touches his Harley." The girl sniped. Ace stood and turned and silently took a long look at the clichéd busty blonde in Lucite heels.

"Marital property. I don't think he'll mind." Ace stood her ground, the girl striding around her in a circle.

"No ring." She cooed, then snatched at the back of Ace's shirt, "And lots of ink, but nothing that an old man would have put on you."

Ace braced her boots in the hardpack, and refused to let this useless slut see how much her words stung. Inside she seethed, because for years she'd been trying to nail down Happy's type, and this chick in front of her was exactly the kind she'd pictured. Ace grasped frantically for any handhold to keep from cracking under the pressure of the blonde's scrutiny, and landed only on the fact that for over a decade, he'd been returning to her, like a homing pigeon. Holding firmly to that, Ace snatched her bag up and walked straight toward the clubhouse doors. Surely they wouldn't bar her from finding a bathroom.

"Must not be satisfying him, because he keeps coming back here." It was a clear goad, but Ace was helpless to resist. She stopped dead in her tracks, dropped the bag at her feet and cracked her neck to the right, then the left. She was just about to turn around and unleash a world of hurt on the bimbo when Tigger's nasally drawl rang out.

"Ace! What the fuck are you doing out here? Get inside."

Without glancing back, Ace picked up her bag and strode across the lot to the door, pretending that she didn't feel the itch between her shoulder blades.

"Hey." Tig caught her attention as she stepped past him into the dim clubhouse. "Don't let a two bit bitch like that make you look stupid. It makes your old man look stupid."

Unsure of whether he was doing her a favor or insulting her, Ace just smiled sweetly up at him, sure that the bimbo was still watching.

"Good girl." The growl stopped her short. Happy was standing in the shadow next to the door, a cigarette in on hand and a bottle in the other. He looked different here, harder than she usually saw him. She wanted badly to go to him and ask whether what the slut had said was true, but nothing about Happy looked inviting at the moment, so she resolved to bide her time.

"I need a bathroom." Ace told him, stepping close, but not touching him. "And bonus points if it has a shower." She was rewarded with a slight softening. Happy nodded to Tig over her head.

"Stay in tight until we get to a room. I don't want even a finger laid on her." He instructed, and Tig fell in tight to her side without demur. It was a unique experience traversing the clubhouse floor with two large males at her sides. The sea of hard men parted without question for these two, and Ace found herself looking from Happy's face to Tig's, and back again. She was a smallish woman, anyway, but felt dwarfed by their size and presence. It was very comforting to be held safe between them, and she felt the loss acutely when she was delivered to a non-descript door with only the instruction to lock it behind her.

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace emerged from the little dorm bathroom with only a towel wrapped around her hair. She paused, staring at the empty double bed, wishing that Happy was stretched out on it, preferably naked. Stopping that train of thought, Ace considered the very likely possibility that he was being kept company by that blonde bitch. She didn't know how much he had heard or seen of their exchange in the parking lot. Ace decided to put a little bit more effort into her appearance and walk out into what certainly sounded like a raging party with her head high.

Enthroned in a large leather armchair, Happy could easily see the entire room, and kept his focus on the hallway to the dorms. He'd chosen his spot with care, not wanting the blonde sweetbutt he'd allowed to blow him a few times to think that she was welcome to do anything beyond keep his glass filled with Jack. He knew that word of his left field nuptials was making its way through the room like wildfire, and he was uncomfortable with the curious stares from his brothers and the very few actual club women that Indian Hills boasted. Because the charter's main income came from the brothel, the brothers here tended not to be in a rush to commit to an old lady. Something that he'd certainly never expected to saddle himself with, but everything came with a price, and Ace's safety and body were well worth the sacrifice of his autonomy.

Shark was hovering at the end of the bar near where the hallway let out, and his vigilance didn't go unnoticed by Happy. He turned the younger man's clear regard for Ace over in his mind, studying it from all angles. Shark had been watching his back for most of the three years he'd been back on Quinn's crew, and had made half a dozen visits to Fallbrook with Happy in that time. He had an easy rapport with her, and had spent way more time in her chair than Happy had. He wondered if Shark felt any ownership over Ace, and didn't like the thought at all. Happy wanted Ace safe and untouched at all cost, but Tig was lightyears savvier than Shark when it came to protection, and there was no danger of attachment. Happy decided that since Shark was planning on settling in to Indian Hills for a few weeks anyway, he'd have a word with Jury, ask him to lay out the red carpet for him. The brother in question slid off his barstool and Happy knew that Ace must have finally come out of her room. When Shark didn't even glance his way, Happy decided that the brother would definitely do better with a charter, he no longer trusted him.

Having already decided on a course of action for Shark, Happy mentally dismissed him, focusing intently on Ace as she stepped out of the shadows and into the main room of the clubhouse. She looked amazing, her hair was a shining, red sheet down her back, and in contrast to the skimpy hooker outfits the pros were sporting, Ace was dressed in jeans with a dangerously low rise and a tight black tank whose hem hadn't been introduced to her pants. The inches of skin between the two fascinated Happy, and he was having a hard time deciding where he wanted to mark her first. He tracked her easily, watching her scanning the room, pleased that her first instinct was to find him. Her eyes didn't find him, though, distracted by Shark stepping up to greet her. Happy saw Tig watching the scene as well, but shook his head when the enforcer glanced his way. His trust in her was rewarded when Ace sidestepped Shark easily, and her eyes lit on him, ensconced in his dim corner. She cocked her head and the relief was plain on her face when he motioned her over.

"Get lost." He didn't even spare a look for the hooker, his eyes glued to Ace as she crossed to him, not pausing to answer any of the questioning gazes that followed her.

"Hey." Was all she said as she stood in front of him.

Happy felt his skin crawl, knowing that so many eyes were gauging his actions and reactions to this woman who was rumored to be his old lady.

"C'mere." He pulled her down onto his lap, burying a hand in her hair and kissing her, much harder than he had really intended. Surveying her swollen lips, though, Happy decided that he liked the way it looked on her.

Without another word, Happy turned his attention back to the clubhouse. He'd staked his claim, and he knew that he'd invited the interest of the Indian Hills Sons. As President, Jury was first to come and greet the new couple, and Happy quickly set the precedent of controlling the conversation. He liked Ace right where she was, protected physically by his body, and from the curiosity by his presence. He knew that her compliance was due to vigilance, not timidity, Ace liked to observe and learn before she jumped into anything.

"Can I get you guys anything?" A fresh looking brunette waif dressed in practically nothing popped up at his elbow. "Us girls keep some wine behind the bar, if you want." She addressed Ace directly, which seemed to put her at ease.

"Actually, I'd love Jameson straight up, if you have it." Ace chimed in, surprising the hell out of everyone within ear shot.

"I'm not going to have to pour you into bed, am I?" Happy asked her, wary at her choice of liquor.

"Please," She scoffed, "I learned to drink from my Irish mother. One glass of whiskey isn't going to put me out."

Happy nodded his assent to the little girl, holding up two fingers to indicate that he'd have the same. Once the initial crush of congratulations and introductions past, he was able to while away the hours listening to the stories of others, and watching Ace watch everyone else. She leaned contentedly into him, sipping on her first drink, humming occasionally in appreciation. When her glass was empty, she shifted on his lap and whispered into his ear. He released her, and sent her off to the bathroom, catching Tig's attention so that he could keep an eye on her, as well.

No sooner had Ace disappeared into the bathroom, than the blonde with the huge rack materialized at his side.

"Refill, honey?" She cooed, popping a hip out in what he supposed was a seductive pose.

"Sure." Was all he said.

"Jack?" She preened, like she was all proud of herself for knowing his drink.

"Nah, Jameson this time. I'm trading up." He dismissed her, turning back to the Sons in front of him. He immersed himself in the debate about Glocks versus SIGs so that he wouldn't have to acknowledge the whore when she returned.

Swept up in the discussion, he didn't see Ace narrow her eyes at him when she saw the bimbo hovering, one hand placed possessively on his shoulder. He didn't notice her stalking dangerously across the floor. But she had his full attention when she stepped right in front of him. She placed her hand on the arms of the chair, leaning in close. Her tits were right in his face, looking all kinds of spectacular. He adjusted his hardening cock unselfconsciously, not really caring who saw. Ace put her lips right next to his ear.

"I'm going to bed, but I'd _really _like to ride that big hard dick beforehand. Your call." She purred, low and hot.

Hap didn't move a muscle, watching for two heartbeats as she walked away from him. When she didn't hesitate, and didn't glance back to see if he was following, he was up and out of his chair, powerless to resist picking up the gauntlet she'd thrown at his feet. He handed his full glass to the hooker without taking his gaze off of Ace and then took off after her, ignoring the cheers and backslaps from his brothers as he passed.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer-The Sons of Anarchy do not belong to me, mores the pity. I do have complete ownership of my OCs, No Other Man Alive, and a new Harley catalogue which I shall use to scope a new sissy bar.**

Happy woke alone. Again. He scrubbed a hand over his face roughly before rolling to sit up. A quick check of the crappy alarm clock told him that it was just shy of 11:00. It unnerved him how easily Ace continued to give him the slip. He guessed that he would have to spell out that he expected her in his bed anytime he woke up.

He glanced longingly at the ashtray beside the bed, but passed it over and went for his clothes. He pulled on his jeans and shirt from the day before, skipping over the used boxers. He'd get some fresh clothes off his bike later, when he had time to take a shower. For now, he needed to figure out where the fuck his old lady had disappeared to.

Happy stuck a cigarette in his mouth and wandered down the hall without bothering to lace his boots. Half a dozen patched brothers were sitting at the bar in varying degrees of hung over. The ones with empty plates looked considerably healthier than the newcomers. He scanned the room, but it was clear she wasn't tucked up somewhere drawing like she had been yesterday morning. One of Jury's boys, Slick, caught side of Happy lurking and nodded his head toward the kitchen behind the bar.

"Your old lady can cook." He informed Happy.

Less than pleased to have to learn that little tidbit second hand, Happy just grunted in reply. He pulled a lighter from his pocket and lit the smoke. Already put out by waking up alone, and then finding his old lady feeding other dudes, the way his_ brothers _were tracking her through the kitchen was like sand in his asscrack. Irritating as hell. His mood eroded further when he rounded the corner and could see the Prospect that was assisting her practically drooling on Ace's tits, which of course, looked spectacular. He stalked past the bar to the kitchen entryway. He almost couldn't blame the Prospect, because with the sexy bedhead and that eye shit just barely smudged; Ace looked like she was ready to be tumbled back into somebody's bed. Her whole face lit up when she saw him looming in the door, which was a delightful contrast to all the color draining from the Prospect's face.

"My old lady is done cooking. And keep your goddamn eyes to yourself before I feed them to you." Happy deliberately blew smoke in his face and didn't move an inch to let him through, the little fucking pissant. Behind him, Happy could hear laughter from the bar as they undoubtedly watched shit unfold. "Bunch of gossiping bitches back there." He informed Ace as she came to him, a plate loaded with bacon, sausage, and eggs in her hand.

"Fixed you a plate, big man." She smirked up at him. With his free hand, Happy wrapped all that mussed up red head around his wrist and pulled her head back. Glad that the assembled men and hopefully that fucking Prospect were watching, he shoved his tongue into her mouth. He'd expected her to passively accept the mauling, but she surprised him by moaning into his mouth eagerly.

"Come on, you're done cooking for these other fuckers. Let the Prospect deal with them." He said, taking the plate from her and pulling her along behind him. He let go of her long enough to flip off the guys at the bar as he bypassed them for one of the tables.

"I really don't fucking like having to go searching for you every single morning." Happy grunted at her between forkfuls of breakfast. "It makes me…edgy when you're not in my bed where you're supposed to be."

Ace felt a little frisson of panic shoot up her spine. She couldn't tell if Happy was pissed at her, or just focused on the food.

"I'm sorry?" She muttered. "I just figured I would do something useful, since I was awake. I mean, what's the point of me being here if I don't at least help out?" When Happy finally looked up at her, eyebrows raised, Ace stopped talking.

"The _point _of you being here is that I want you to be here. In my bed in the morning. Ready to fuck if I want to. _That's _the point." He stared at her, completely flabbergasted that she'd managed to miss the point when he'd told her that her entire life began and ended with him.

"Ok." Ace's voice was small, but her eyes were huge as she absorbed this new piece of intel.

"Ok." He agreed, and turned his attention back to decimating his breakfast, which really was good.

"Go drop this in the kitchen and come right back." He handed her the plate and lit another smoke.

Slick plopped down into the seat Ace vacated and lit his own cigarette.

"She's smoking hot, she can cook, and if you've kept going back for more, she's got to be a firecracker between the sheets." He ticked the salient points off on his fingers. "Are you sure you're keeping her? Because if you're not, let me be the first in line to take her on."

"Jesus Christ, don't you Nevada fuckers ever let up?" Happy groaned.

"Nope." Was the predictably smooth reply from Slick.

"Well spread the fucking word. I will kill to keep her untouched. She's mine." He warned with deadly seriousness.

"Hey no problem, man." Slick put both hands in the air in surrender. "You really can't blame me for trying. You're one lucky dude."

Happy was done with all the talking. He continued to watch Ace as she dropped the plate off in the kitchen and turn on her heel. Seeing all the stares she was getting, he returned to his internal debate. Front or back? Where to start? He'd already made up his mind to send a clear message that she was way off limits. When she approached, Happy stood up and handed her his keys.

"Do me a favor and go grab my bag, ok baby?" He sent her off toward the door and took off in search of some serious disinfectant. He turned around just in time to see the bimbo from last night say something to Ace when they met at the door. Ace didn't miss a step, just flipped her the bird without even looking her way. Happy really didn't like whatever this bitch thought she was up to.

"Hey." He caught her attention as she got herself ready to leave. He moved to stand in front of her, pleased to see that the dumb gash couldn't tell that he was considering snapping her neck. "You can't leave yet. You really should stick around to see what's happening." He didn't stick around to hear a response, just went back about his business.

He dragged a chair into the best light, then a barstool behind it, spinning it down to what he estimated to be the right height. Next to that went a table, which he set the Prospect to wiping down. When Ace returned, he pulled out his tat rig, a new needle, and the various other implements of his trade. She took in the setup, her face hopeful, but careful not to jump to conclusions.

"Go put your hair up." He decided to start with putting his own name in giant fucking letters across her shoulders. "And bring me your book and pencils, I want to mess with the design a little."

Ace's face broke into a huge, excited grin and she rocked forward onto her toes, like she was on the verge of busting into a very girly squeal fit. She reined it in and just spun to follow his directions, though.

"Inking her already, man?" Tig nailed the scene the second he entered the room. His disapproval was clear in his voice. Happy just quirked a questioning brow at Tig and kept setting up the gear to his liking. "I mean, I get why you took her with you. I even get why you married the bitch. But both of those things can be fixed. Once you mark her, man, you can't take that shit back. You don't even know if you can trust her."

"I trust her like I trust my own mother." Was the only explanation he felt obligated to offer. Happy's love and trust in his mother was well known in the MC community.

"Alright, man. I don't get how you can trust any bitch, but I got your back." Tig pulled another chair over, physically showing his solidarity. "I'm not holding her fucking hand, though."

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace and Happy spent an easy hour, debating line styles as Hap changed the original graffiti to something that carried a little more weight. The Anarchist's A replaced the original, a screaming beacon to anyone who had ever seen a Son's cut. He was satisfied with the finished drawing and couldn't wait to dirty up her skin a little more. All done in black and grey, it was going to look spectacular from behind. He measured the stretch of her upper back with his gaze, noting where her quarter sleeves would blend into his design. He wished that no other man had ever put a needle to her skin, but knew there was no changing the past.

"Alright, baby, let's get moving. Do you need me to make a stencil or do you trust me?" Happy teased her, running a finger down her exposed spine.

"You know I trust you." Ace rolled her eyes and straddled the chair. "Do you need me to untie this?" She gestured to the halter tied at her nape.

"Nah." Happy moved efficiently, tucking paper towels into her shirt, then squirting disinfectant on her back. He shaved the field meticulously, wiping with the disinfectant once more. Happy tested his gun a last time, then moved his stool in close enough that she could feel his hard cock against her ass.

"Ready, Ace?" He breathed against her neck, catching Tig's eyeroll over her shoulder.

"Absolutely." Ace crossed her arms across the back of the chair and put her chin down, careful to keep it centered and not contort where Happy would be working.

She let out the sexiest little moan when he made the first stroke, and Happy had to force himself to focus on the art in front of him, instead of fantasizing about what he was going to do to her when he was finished. He sank easily into the rhythm of alternating between ink and wiping the field. When the basic outline was complete, he sat back and admired his work.

"Go stretch your legs and get some water. But don't you dare fucking look at it before it's done." Happy pegged her was hard stare, so that she knew he wasn't joking. "Tig." He caught the man's attention.

"Yeah, I fucking got it. Watch her. Make sure no one touches her, blah blah." Tig mimicked, but stood and followed Ace anyway.

Shark approached Happy warily. He'd spent a lot of miles with the assassin, too many to mistake the cold shoulder he was feeling.

"Looks good." Shark complimented, nodding at Ace's retreating back. He waited for his former partner to acknowledge the olive branch, but the longer he stood here, the clearer it became that Happy wasn't planning on budging. "Look, brother, I wasn't trying to step in on what's yours."

"That's not what it looked like." Happy finally stood and glared at the younger man. "For the last three days, it's looked an awful lot like every single time _I _wasn't there, _you _made a point to be right fucking there."

"Oh yeah, Hap's been waiting to jump on this!" Tig rubbed his hands together gleefully. "Sit down, dollface."

"Jesus, Happy, I wasn't pushing up on her, I was trying to make sure she was alright with how everything went down. You didn't even give her any options, man!" Shark burst out, then closed his mouth, realizing immediately that he'd made a serious error. He planted his feet more securely on the wood floor and crossed his arms across his chest, drawing himself up to his full height. Happy just cocked his head to the side and studied him, eyes glittering dangerously cold.

"C'mere, Ace." Happy called to her, voice low and flat. He never took his eyes off of Shark, and when he reached a hand out to cup Ace's neck, she was exactly where his hand landed. He pulled her in hard against his body, and felt her arms go around his waist. He liked having her tucked in safe and protected.

"Shark thinks I didn't give you any choice about being with me." He told her conversationally, as though it weren't perfectly clear that she had gone to him freely. "Go on and tell him, baby."

"I already tried." Came her surprising answer. She turned her gaze up to him, unfazed that he still hadn't looked away from Shark. "I explained that you gave me the choice to stay with you or to go away and become someone new. I told him that you were always the only option."

"Good girl." He praised her, still in the eerie flat voice. It struck many of the brothers that had crowded in to watch the exchange that while no man was unaffected by Happy's predatory lethality, the small redhead was utterly unconcerned at being cozied right up to the beast.

"Don't you ever even _think _that I wouldn't be looking after what's mine. You're not her old man." Happy spat at Shark's feet. "Call Quinn for a transfer, I don't fucking trust you on my crew."

With that, Happy pushed Ace back toward her chair, and deliberately turned his unprotected back on Shark. It was a clear insult, especially when the sound of Shark's boots retreated from the clubhouse. The only sound when Happy fired up his tattoo gun was Tigger's hysterical giggling as he pulled his seat in even tighter.

"Come on, dollface," he said, reaching for her hand, "If you can wind him up like that, I'll even hold your hand while your old man inks you."

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer-FX called. I still don't own the Sons of Anarchy. I do own No Other Man Alive, Ace, Shark, Slick, and a creepy permagrin from all the wonderful reviews. And to address a reviewer's question that I couldn't PM, Shark is young, tall, skinny, and heavily tattooed and pierced. More of a Travis Barker type. He is part of the new, younger crew that is coming up, and you will see him again. Times are a-changing.**

"How you doing, Ace?" Happy asked her, wiping down her back for the millionth time. They were two hours into the shading, and he judged that he had another hour and a half to go.

"Goooood." She murmured, completely buzzed on the endorphins.

"Good girl." He chuckled a little, pulling her back against him, but careful not to touch the raw skin he'd been working on.

"Tell me you're good to keep going, I'd really fucking hate to leave this unfinished." He ordered her, rubbing her neck to relieve some of the soreness from sitting one position for so long.

"Yeah, I'm good to finish it." Ace giggled and pushed him away. "Just let me stretch for a minute, ok?"

Happy stood, too, and paced the clubhouse's main room. He flexed his hands, rubbing the left with his right. It had really been too long since he'd done a big piece. If a new brother wanted to put the reaper in his skin, as well as on his back, Happy could ink that in his sleep. Beyond that, anything he did on the road tended to be quick 60 minute or less pieces.

"Good?" He questioned Ace as she settled back into her position. She just nodded and twirled a finger in the universal sign for 'get on with it.' When the needle went back to work, Ace let out that moan again, and Happy's jaw tightened at the same rate as his pants.

"Christ, Ace, did the last asshole that marked you have to listen to you begging to be fucked with all that moaning?" He grumbled at her, a clear picture of the bows on the back of her thighs in his mind.

"Probably." Ace snorted, "But_ her _name was Jen, so I don't think she minded so much. I don't see why you're surprised; you know I have a love affair with ink, from both sides of the rig."

Happy didn't feel moved to answer, just continued to ink and wipe, back in the groove. He thought about that first time, when he'd introduced her to tattooing. At 14, she'd already been beautiful and easily manipulated. Her hair had been dyed black, trying to fit in with the other girls in the predominantly Latino neighborhood. He was glad she'd grown out of wanting to fit in. When he'd told her what he wanted from her, she'd been so eager to please. Happy was glad that as hard as he'd gotten off on her complete trust, he hadn't taken physical advantage.

"Say cheese, Killah." Slick interrupted. Happy looked up just in time to catch the flash from the camera phone. Slick was Indian Hills' answer to Juice, another intelligence officer with a hacker's heart.

"This will be all over the SOA nation within hours." He told Happy, flipping the phone around to show him the image. It was very effective, with his name spelled out in gigantic letters across her back, there wouldn't be a question of who Ace was to the Nomad. The picture even showed Tig holding vigil in front of Ace, which was a powerful, silent testament to her position.

Happy took a moment to assess the tenor of the clubhouse. The brothers in residence were all up, some playing pool or poker, some with engine components scattered across the tables, and plenty of eyes clocking his progress. The shift in respect was soothing, and he was unexpectedly grateful that Slick was going to pave his way.

"Thanks." He grunted, not looking up from his work.

"Just making reparations, man. Everybody saw the way you shut Shark down, and you've done too much for this club to deserve any hassle over your old lady." Slick replied with a seriousness that was in contrast to his usual slick levity.

"Almost done." Happy rubbed his right hand along Ace's hip and was amused by the logy grin she threw him over her shoulder. She was deep in the ink trance, riding the high that came from low level pain that stretched for hours. He was really looking forward to fucking her in the shower when he was done, and finding out whether she was going to continue to be half out of it, or attack him. So far, sex with Ace had turned out to be more fun than he'd had in bed in years. All the sweetbutts and hookers seemed like just the thing when he'd been doing them, but in hindsight it was really just an expensive jerk-off. Ace's sack-style combination of "anything you want" and "oh, I'm going to get mine" had come as a very welcome surprise. The knowledge that she would likely let him do whatever depraved act he came up with to her, and the fact that she was untouched by any other man, made Happy understand for the first time, how a man could spend his entire life with only one broad. He'd never done a virgin, not wanting to bother with teaching some stupid slut how to fuck properly, but he wondered now what Ace might have been like. He just bet that she would have looked at him with the same huge eyes she'd given him the night of his first club hit.

"Fuck it. I'm done. I'll have to retouch it after it heals anyway." Happy wiped his work down one last time, and packed his shit up without a wasted motion.

"Mmmm, can I see it now?" She pouted, swaying a little at she stood.

"In a minute, I want Slick to get a picture of the final product." He told her, allowing her to lean against him while Slick fiddled with his phone. Happy rubbed her lower back, careful not to block the raw artwork spanning her shoulders. In the moment right before Slick raised the phone, Happy bent his head to catch Ace's quiet confession.

"Hap?" He recognized the heavy lidded look instantaneously, but couldn't brace himself in time. "I'm sooooo wet, Happy."

Slick captured that exact moment, and despite not hearing a word she'd said, this picture certainly spoke a thousand words. Really dirty words, by the look on the Tacoma Killer's face. She'd been an old lady for less than a week, but Ace's legend was growing by the minute.

"She makes it entirely too easy." Slick informed Happy, showing off the picture.

"Wow…" Ace breathed, taking in all the detail of her brand. "It looks amazing, Happy. Can he send this to me?"

"And then she asks you." Slick rolled his eyes. "You've known her how long and only just snatched her up? You're either incredibly lucky or an insane genius."

Happy pulled Ace's iPhone from her back pocket and handed it to Slick.

"The picture, the phone numbers for the West Coast charter presidents, and make it untraceable." He ordered and pulled Ace toward the dorms.

"I need a shower." Happy told Ace, and his face was full of nasty promises.

**No Other Man Alive**

"Fuck!" Happy pulled away from Ace's hot mouth long enough to swear in frustration. "All I want to do is slam you into that door and fuck that pretty little pussy."

"Shower." Ace panted, desperate, and then surprised him by biting his chest through his shirt. It felt hard enough to have left a mark.

"Yeah, shower." He agreed, stepping out of her reach. Happy hung his cut on the back of the chair and pulled his shirt over his head, his granite abs flexing with the motion. He caught her watching him and grinned, cocky and full of swag. It reminded Ace very strongly of a much younger Happy, when he'd still just been Hector. "Quit drooling and get naked." He teased her.

In moments, they were under the hot water, Happy's wide shoulders protecting her from the spray. He had her bent over, right foot braced on the side of the tub. The position put her on display beautifully for him, back arched, ass popped, all that perfect pink spread wide, and of course, _his _name an obvious brand of ownership across her back. He rubbed his cock back and forth across her spread pussy, wanting her needy. His balls were almost painfully tight, every time they got naked he felt like a horny, out of control adolescent again, not the decidedly middle aged club enforcer he saw in the mirror every morning when he shaved.

"Oh God, _please._" Ace begged, desperate for release. Happy rewarded her, his big dick stretching her slowly, a move that only made her hotter. She tried to push back, to impale herself on him, but his hand gripped her hip hard, pinning her in place.

"Fuck, baby, you're such slut." He growled in approval, even more pleased when Ace moaned in loud agreement. He moved slow and deliberate, drawing the experience out for as long as he could manage. He felt her cum twice on his cock, and nearly broke his own jaw gritting his teeth against his own orgasm.

"_Yeeeesss…" _Hissed Ace as his hips sped up. He clamped down harder on her hip, torquing her spine even further. He came with a primal cry, deep and guttural, and without words.

"You make me lose all my self control." He accused her, letting go of her hip to prop a fist against the wall next to her head.

"Good." She smiled very smugly, and daintily disengaged from him. She turned inside the protection of his arms and wrapped herself around him. Ace was glad that his height prevented Happy from getting a good view of her face, because she was suddenly overwhelmed by the man holding her, and the life she'd agreed to live, lightyears different from the one she had left behind. Her girlish, gooey feelings melted further when Happy kissed the top of her head and pulled her in tighter, one hand cradling her head to his chest.

"Would you have left him, if I had come for you?" Happy asked her, shocking himself more than her, probably. She did shoot him a surprised look, then her brow creased as she carefully considered. He didn't really know what he expected to accomplish by asking her, just that he really wanted to know.

"No, I don't think so, not without knowing what he'd been doing." She answered warily, nervous about his reaction. Happy just nodded, turning her answer over in his head. He turned her into the water, trying to diffuse some of the spray with one hand. Moving her back out, he rubbed the bar of Dial between his hands to build up a lather. She braced against the sting, only hissing quietly through her teeth as he thoroughly washed her back.

"And if you had found out, before the useless cunt killed himself, would you have called me then to take care of him?" Happy pushed, trying to figure her out.

"No. I would have killed him myself." Her voice was a hot growl, and it caught him off balance.

"So then why'd you stick around to be his punching bag? You could have just left." Happy pointed out, and Ace felt like he was poking all her soft spots, and not in a fun way.

"And gone where, Happy? My parents were dead, I couldn't go back home. I didn't really _have _anyone. Besides, the only times Tony got really mean was when you would show up, so it was few and far between. He knew I wanted you from the time I knew _how _to want you." The explanation was completely without blame, and totally matter of fact.

"That ain't how it is now, Ace. You have me, got it?" He forced her to look him in the eye, and was fascinated watching her decide to trust him even further, though he was certain she didn't understand how completely she _should _trust him.

"Yeah," She smiled, "I got it."

Happy turned the water off and reached out for a towel. He dried her, from the feet up, finishing with her back, gently blotting the water from her angry skin. He sent her off with a smack on the ass, and dried himself off. Filling the sink with hot water, he pulled out his razor and shave gel from his bag. He was meticulous about shaving his head and face, working in long, methodic strokes. He found the repetitive motions somewhat soothing. It had the added bonus of erasing all the grey that had started to crop up.

In the mirror he caught Ace coming up behind him. She'd pulled on jeans and braided her red hair down one shoulder, but she hadn't bothered with a shirt. Which was, of course, more than fine by him.

"Door still locked?" He asked, eyes on her gorgeous tits. Despite having just had her bent over in the shower, the combination of topless with jeans felt deliciously taboo. When she nodded, he forcibly dragged his attention back to his own dome.

"Gonna be a shame covering all that ink up." He grumbled when he was done shaving and dressed in fresh clothes. "Those tits, too."

"Yeah, you like 'em, big man?" Ace asked, putting them all in his face as he sat on the bed to pull his boots on. Any response he'd been about to make was thwarted by the sound of his pre-pay ringing. He motioned her facedown on the bed so that he could dress the tattoo while he answered the phone.

"Yeah." His standard greeting was cut off almost immediately by Quinn.

"Tell me why I just got a release request from the guy who has been watching _your _back for years?" He demanded, clearly pissed.

"Don't trust him anymore." Happy growled, pissed all over again at the thought of Shark out on the road with old lady.

"Well I guess you don't have to. He's put in a request at Charming. So as if I even have to fucking ask, do you vote to release?"

"Yeah. I do." He responded, voice hard. His hands were gentle, but efficient, though, covering up the ink with vacuum sealed bandages and taping it all down, securely.

"So now who the hell am I supposed to task with watching your six? You don't exactly have the rep of an easy fucker to work with." Quinn complained.

"Well I'm bringing Tig to your lake house, he's my early birthday present to you. You're welcome." Happy ignored Ace giggling underneath him, but Quinn didn't.

"My birthday was 3 months ago, asshole. Is Ace sitting right there?" Quinn asked, voice resigned and tired.

"Yeah, I'm dressing her new tat." Happy explained, grateful that Quinn was dropping the Shark issue.

"Slick sent me the pictures. Nice work, on the ink and the woman. She looks like a rare find." Quinn was always the grounding voice of wisdom for his Nomads, the level head that kept all the hardest, wildest Sons in line.

"Yeah, she is."

"And you've known her since you were kids?" Quinn was clearly still trying to figure it all out.

"Nah, man, she's like 15 years younger than me." It sounded like a big number when he let it fly like that.

"Thirteen." Ace corrected.

"Thirteen." He parroted. "My ma was her babysitter, but I wasn't around much when she was a kid, too busy acting like a thug. Went away for 7 years when I turned 18, and Prospected right after that. Haven't exactly been around a whole for her."

"You're around now." Quinn reminded him, "And incredibly lucky that she came available, because you're a stupid SOB for not snatching her up in the first place."

"Does everyone really have to keep telling me that?" He protested, but Quinn, and Ace, just laughed.

"Well, I'm looking forward to having you guys here at the lake house. Keep Tig tight, I'll call in his vote while I'm working on Shark's release."

"Will do, Boss." And Happy disconnected, tossing the pre-pay haphazardly on the nightstand. He rolled off of Ace, onto his back. She watched him, her blue eyes sparkling, cheek propped on one forearm.

"Hey Hap…" She started, but he cut her off quickly.

"Don't. " He ordered. "We're good, you don't say gotta say shit."

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer-True story, my name is not Kurt Sutter. Ergo (best word in Websters), I do not own Sons of Anarchy. I do own my ever growing cast of original characters, this story, its plotlines, and also an upcoming PCS move.**

Before even opening his eyes, Happy knew that he was alone in bed, but not in the room. He could hear Ace's breathy little pants and moans, and a very _wet _sound, very close to his head.

"I can see you smiling, big man, open your eyes…" Ace coaxed, voice all hot and honey.

Happy resisted, wanting to prove to her, even just for a few seconds more that he was only going to look because he wanted to, not because she told him to. Then she moaned again, and he cracked one dark eye, and was rewarded with a very close up view of slick pink pussy, just inches from his face. Ace had pulled the cheap avocado colored armchair tight to the bed. She was slumped in it, one leg thrown over each arm, which put her on display for him. Her right hand was working the swollen, flushed lips, stroking and petting, and Happy knew she was trying hard not to cum, yet. Her left hand cupped her breast, alternating between squeezing and rubbing the palm right over her hard nipple.

Ace watched as both of his hard, dark eyes came fully open. Feeling his gaze all over her skin, with nothing hidden from his view, she found it very hard to resist the orgasm that was tight and hovering in her belly. She lightened the pressure on her slick sex, but when he locked eyes with her and palmed his rigid dick, Ace knew she was lost. She buried two fingers in her hot pussy and came seconds later, mouth open and eyes shut. When her breathing slowed, she opened her eyes again to meet Happy's. Without looking away, she slowly dragged her wet hand up her body to her mouth and licked it clean.

Happy was off the bed, ready to reassert his control. She gasped, then laughed, low and full of feminine self satisfaction when he buried his left hand in her hair. He drew her up, arching her back, so that she stared up at him. He bent and kissed her, tasting her own pussy on her tongue. Straightening, he guided her lips to his cock, her blue eyes on him until she wrapped her lips around his dark head. Her lids fluttered shut and she hummed around him, then set to her task with thorough enjoyment. Happy let her set her pace, but when she scraped the bottom of his shaft lightly with her teeth, he tightened his grip on her hair, holding her still. She moaned, and tilted her head back enough to be able to see him. The look of her, cheeks pink, eyes boldly open, and her mouth full of his cock pushed the limits of his patience, and he flexed his hips experimentally. When she didn't object, only hummed happily, he began to fuck her mouth in earnest, intoxicated with the sight of her. He came hard in her throat, the feel of her struggling to swallow his cum making the orgasm even more intense.

"Good girl." He praised her, fascinated that she could transition so easily from dirty little slut, to wiping the corners of her mouth daintily, like she was at a tea party or some shit. Ace smiled at him and stretched, wincing. Happy took further advantage of his position and leaned over her to peel back a corner of the dressings covering her shoulders.

"It's starting to itch, already." She told him as he studied the little bit he could see. "Can we leave them off for today?"

"Yeah, as long as you're not planning to ride with me today." He conceded, giving in to her in the aftermath of the oral devastation, though he'd prefer the dressing stay on for another day. She was arguably more qualified to make that call than he was, anyway. Checking the time, he patted her head affectionately, and headed for the bathroom to shave.

When he returned, head smooth and goatee trimmed down to stubble, Happy found Ace curled back on the bed. She watched him as he walked around the little room, dressing and checking his SIGs, shrugging into the shoulder holster. She yawned, and closed her eyes again.

A lifelong insomniac, she'd been awake only a few hours after they'd fallen into bed the night before, after a strange dinner in the local diner, and a few hours of riding just to ride. The locals were quietly hostile, giving her and Happy a wide berth, going so far as to actually cross the street. Ace was under no illusions about who her man was, but it was still decidedly odd to find herself painted with the same brush. She suspected that he'd taken her in public to put her right up against that truth, and when he'd had his fill of mixing with the locals, they'd headed out into the desert at high speed.

Ace opened her eyes at the slight metallic clunk. Happy had placed her Glock within easy reach on the nightstand.

"Stay here until I get back." He told her, and tapped the Glock for emphasis.

"Here? Like in the room, here?" She asked sleepily, brow crinkled.

"Yeah. Tig and I are going to help Jury out with some protection runs, and I don't want you wandering around unprotected." Ace briefly considered arguing, especially with protection sitting right there on the nightstand, but gave up the thought when she yawned again.

"Okay." She shrugged one shoulder agreeably and burrowed further into the pillow. She was already drifting off when Happy closed the locked door behind him.

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy was more surprised than he really should have been to find Tig holding up the wall outside his door. Tig's eyes were bloodshot and he smelled of that distinct stripper perfume, Love Spell and overused pussy. He was also grinning like he'd won the lottery.

"You know, I really fucking love Jury's place. It's like Disneyland, the happiest place on Earth." Tig enthused as they bro-hugged.

"Surprised you managed to crawl out from under Hooker Mountain this early." Happy replied as they wandered into the lazy Sunday clubhouse.

"It wasn't easy." Tig replied in earnest. "But that blond cunt has an afternoon delight scheduled in Reno, and Jury needs us to escort her."

The blond cunt in question was sitting at the bar, arms folded petulantly over her chest, Lucite heel dangling. She snapped her gum in a calculated bid for attention.

"It's about time." She huffed, spotting them. "You gonna let me ride with you, Happy?" She cooed at him in that saccharine baby voice that made the palms of his hands itch.

"No." He shut her down without even looking at her, certain that Jury would require compensation if he choked out one of his working girls, and he was down most of his cash due to the Fallbrook fiasco. As if the thought had summoned him, Jury came out of his office at just that moment.

"Alright, here's the address for the hotel, but Starla knows the way, so just follow her. We use a suite, so I expect both of you in the outer room. This guy is supposedly a first timer, so I don't really anticipate any trouble." Jury laid it out for them, handing each a brown envelope.

"No problem, Jury." Tig answered, practically sunshine and rainbows after whatever he had done to the poor whores he'd rented the night before. Ace's wake up call had had Happy in similar high spirits, but being forced into proximity with Plastic Fantastic here made him weary. He envied Ace, who was no doubt out cold in the bed. At least he was getting paid, and if this bitch was with him, she couldn't be here hassling his old lady.

"Let's roll."

**No Other Man Alive**

At the shitty little hotel, Happy's mood was deteriorating quickly. Jury's charter might be Tig's Disneyland, but he fucking hated helping out with the working girls. He was currently having to nod and act like he gave half a shit about what this white collar pansy ass was running his fat mouth about.

"Oh yeah, man, I had a Harley, too. Nothing like the wind in your face, eh?" The yuppy asswipe reminded Happy of a puppy, all soft and overeager and just begging to be punted. Instead of answering, Happy just dropped his sunglasses back over his eyes. It was a relief when Starla coaxed the John back into the bedroom.

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace woke after an hour of hard sleep. She winced at the healing skin on her shoulders protested the cat stretch. Sitting up cross-legged on the bed, she blew her hair out of her face, mentally twiddling her thumbs. She could hear the sound of voices on the other side of the door, it was early afternoon on a Sunday, and she bet this was when a lot of the guys got in their "ride to live" time. They sounded friendly.

Not willing to cross Happy's very specific instructions, and sure that he had to be coming back soon anyway, Ace virtuously resigned herself to showering alone. Bouncing off the bed, she headed to the bathroom, picking at the tape on her shoulder as she went. Twisting to view her back in the mirror, Ace surveyed the exceptionally large artwork with a decidedly confusing mix of pride, horror, and admiration. She was really pleased that Happy had turned out to be as skilled as she'd always thought he would be, but there would be no mistaking the brand of ownership for anything other than exactly what it was if her unlikely husband changed his mind. As a trained tattoo artist, the first thing her official mentor had taught her was that permanently putting any name in your skin was a bad fucking idea, and here she was, days out from hooking up with Happy, with his name a lifelong billboard. Taking a few deep breaths, Ace reminded herself that even though the decision to commit had been speedy, she'd always known who and what Happy was, and she'd consciously accepted that there would be some prices to pay if she kept him.

Ace took a long shower, using the time to take care of all the girly maintenance she wasn't planning on ever doing in front of Happy. She briefly contemplated rubbing one out, but found that it didn't hold a lot of appeal after her morning performance. Having shaved, exfoliated, washed, and even conditioned her ridiculous mane of hair twice, Ace finally turned the water off and dried herself. When a quick peek back into the room told her that Happy still hadn't returned, she decided to blow her hair dry, a time consuming prospect that she rarely bothered with.

An hour later, Ace paced the room, fully made up and her arms aching from the battle to tame her hair. The noise of the club and a few women carrying on in the clubhouse made her a little nostalgic. It sounded a lot like all the backyard barbeques she'd hosted with Tony before things had gotten all fucked up with them. Her stomach growled in protest, and Ace looked longingly at the door. Happy had to be coming back soon, though, he wouldn't expect her to stay in here much longer without food. Ace turned to her trusty iPhone for entertainment, blasting her belly dancing playlist to drown out the people outside the door.

**No Other Man Alive**

"Gosh, you guys must have the best job in the world!" The stupid prick enthused, thinking that his two hours with a hooker made him some kind of stud. Unfortunately, the two hours had only served to make him even more annoying. Happy had developed a head ache from the cheap air freshener in the room, and all he wanted to do was get on his Harley and tear up the 50 miles or so to Indian Hills, fuck Ace and then eat a goddamn pizza. With beer. But this guy was yammering on like they were "bros" while Starla took her sweet ass time getting dressed. How long could it really take to piece together the scraps she wore?

"I bet you guys get to test the merch all the time, right?" the pissant asked, just as Starla came out of the bedroom.

"Oh not this one," She snarked, "He's got a wife that won't let him out to play."

"Alright, party's over. Time to get the fuck out." Tig stepped in, having taken note of the vein throbbing in Happy's forehead and knowing what kind of disaster it would wreak if the big bastard lost his shit. He pushed the guy out into the hallway and closed the door in his face. He wasn't quite fast enough to prevent Happy from taking the bitch by the throat, though.

"Keep your fucking tongue in your mouth about my old lady or I will cut you open, throat to cunt." His voice was cold and almost conversational, the threat more terrifying for the lack of heat behind it. He let her go when she nodded her agreement.

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy stormed down the corridor, the bitch had taken the opportunity on the ride back to stretch a 30 minute trip into an excursion that cost him an hour and a half. He was horny and hungry, and his skull felt like it might split in two. He hammered on the door, hoping to find Ace as naked as he'd left her. Instead she flung the door open with her bitch face on.

"Thank fuck, I'm starving." She growled at him and Happy stared at her, dumbfounded and pissed. Before he could think of anything to respond with, Starla sailed past him toward the brothel side, and he learned that he had been gravely mistaken when he'd thought that she understood where they stood.

"I hope I didn't wear him out too much for you, sweetie!" Starla tossed over her shoulder at Ace.

Hap had barely a second to catch Ace around the waist with his right arm as the redhead tried to launch herself at the dumb hooker. In that instant she'd transformed from the self contained woman he'd just inked, back into the feisty, hot headed fighter he'd known back in Bakersfield. She kicked and struggled to free herself from his grip, while screaming very creative obscenities in Spanish. Jury, and a few brothers had gathered to see what the scene was about when Starla sealed her own fate.

"God, control your bitch, Hap." She smirked, confident in her position as one of Jury's top earners to protect her. It didn't.

"Shut your fucking trap." He ordered her, pulling his SIG with his left hand, relieved when Ace finally stopped kicking him. He nodded to Tig to come and get Ace, because he didn't trust the reprieve. When Tig had ushered her through the crowd to a safe distance, Happy spoke again.

"Jury. Brothers before money. This loud mouthed gash has been nothing but fucking trouble, put her out or I'll go to Jax with it." He demanded, beyond caring what position it put the Indian Hills President in.

"Of course, brother," Jury placated him, and Happy lowered his weapon. "There's a wetback pimp that offered for her a few months back, I'll just give him a call, ok." Jury pushed the shaking whore further down the hall, finally disappearing from view.

Happy glared around at the gathered men, who started to find anything else to look at, dispersing in an overly casual manner. He noted Tig still gripping a subdued Ace by the biceps.

"Let her go." He told his sergeant, unsure of how she was going to react. He caught the nervous look that she threw to Tig before crossing the short distance to him. He could feel her trembling a little when she wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm sorry, I get kind of insane when I don't eat?" She offered uncertainly, and she was clearly feeling more than a little unsure herself.

"Fuck, I'm ordering some goddamn pizza before she bites someone's head off." Tig chimed in, heading into his room across the hall, his outburst cutting the tension.

"Yeah, I forgot about that." He admitted, rubbing his head roughly before smoothing Ace's hair back awkwardly. "Come on, my head's about to fucking split."

Ace rubbed her breasts against his cut suggestively.

"You know what's really good for headaches, right?"

**No Other Man Alive**

When Tig kicked their door 45 minutes later, they were both dressed and relaxed. It was an unexpectedly domestic scene as Ace cleared off a nightstand for the pizza boxes, and the three of them settled down to destroying some food.

"Feel better, Holyfield?" Tig asked when Ace stood to toss her plate in the trash. She let loose an impressive belch, which set her off on a laughing jag. Hap just shook his head and grabbed more food, but Tig looked thunderstruck.

"Happy, man, I think I might be in love with your wife." He stated with complete sincerity, which made Ace laugh even harder.

"Yes, Tig, I feel much better. I get mean when I don't get fed regularly." Ace was sheepish as she crawled onto the bed to sit behind her man.

"How much pizza have you had?" she questioned as she peered around him to see the empty box.

"A lot." Happy looked back at her, a little defensive.

"I just don't see how you eat like that, and still manage to look like you do." She pointed out, rubbing a hand over his abs deliberately.

"I like to fuck a lot. And fight." Happy answered, kissing her hard.

"Jesus, it's like live porn." Tig marveled from his perch on the infamous armchair.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer-The Sons of Anarchy said that they thought I would make a more fun owner than Kurt Sutter, but sadly, they're fictional so their opinions don't matter. I do own No Other Man Alive, its plots (and you may not know it, yet, but there is a lot brewing!), and all my fantastic original characters. Even Starla.**

It was dark in the dorm room, and Ace was huddled in the tiny patch of light coming from the window, sketchbook and pencils in her lap. She was wearing his hoodie, and Happy found it unexpectedly sexy. He didn't say a word, just watched her as she scribbled furiously. He felt a little cheated that from where he lay he could see the clock, but not Ace's face or what she was drawing.

As though he'd summoned her, Ace turned and looked right at him over her shoulder. She squeaked in surprise, losing her balance and dropping her book in the process.

"Fuck, you scared the shit out of me." She scolded him, crawling under the chair to retrieve her stuff. Happy groaned when he saw that she wasn't wearing anything under the hoodie.

"Do you ever sleep?" He asked, and his voice was sandpaper rough.

"Um, not really." Ace shrugged, sliding the hoodie off her shoulders. She grinned when Happy groaned again, and slid into the bed next to him.

"It's four o'clock in the fucking morning and I came twice, if you wanted more than that, you shoulda picked a younger man." He grumbled at her when she rubbed all her nakedness on him. Ace just laughed, wide awake and delighted that for the first time in the many years she'd known Happy, she finally had his attention.

"Mmm, I had a younger man." She purred, and swung a leg over to straddle him. She ran a finger lightly over his mouth and down his chest and stomach. "And _this _is a very serious upgrade."

Happy firmly put her off of him, and heard her laugh again. Her veiled reference to her dead shitbag husband triggered his memory, and he propped himself up on an elbow to look at her.

"You never answered me." He said, catching her face with his free hand. "About why you stayed with him after he beat on you."

"What are you, the MC Dr. Phil?" She snapped, all laughter gone from her voice, and pushed his hand away. "It's not like you didn't grow up on the same block. Puerto Rican men slap their women around when they get pissed, it's the machismo. You can't tell me you've never hit a woman."

Happy was uncomfortable with her uncharacteristic cynicism, but she couldn't distract him from finding out what he wanted to know. He was single minded when it came to discovering shit.

"I didn't ask why he did it, I asked why you let that shit happen. I've seen you fight. It doesn't add up that you would just take that lying down." He knew that he'd hit a nerve when she pulled the comforter higher up her back and tucked it between them.

"I'm not a stupid bitch, that's why. I didn't leave because my _husband _was the only family I had, my parents are gone, Delia had just had her heart attack, I mean, I could support myself but what would the point have been? And I didn't fight back because no matter how scrappy I am, I only weigh a buck twenty and any dude worth his shit is going to be able to put me down. Fighting back only makes that shit worse." Happy wondered when Ace would stop surprising him, because there wasn't even a hint of weakness in her voice. She was just very matter of fact about it. "Why do you care so much, anyway?" She asked, yawning widely and turning her back on him.

"I like knowing how your head works." He answered her, tracing the letters of his name on her back lightly. "You know I'm not going to be that guy, right?"

"Sure, Hap." Ace agreed, mostly asleep.

"I'm serious, Ace." He barked at her, needing her attention. "I will beat the shit out of someone, I will _kill _for you if I need to, but I'm not going to raise my hand to you."

Sighing, Ace rolled onto her stomach and opened her eyes.

"I _know, _Happy." She smiled a little dopily at him. "Can I sleep now?"

"Yeah, sleep, baby." He said, stroking her hair, wide awake now that she was ready to sleep.

**No Other Man Alive**

In a change of pace that felt deliberate, Ace had the bed all to herself when she woke. She was groggy and disoriented, and it took her a long moment to figure out where she was. Insomnia had a way of making real life seem awfully hazy sometimes. She dragged herself over to the other side of the bed, stopping briefly to inhale Happy's scent on the pillow like a lovestruck teen. After a moment to recover from that exertion, she hung her head over the side of the bed to get a look at the time. It was after two in the afternoon. Shit. Granted, she didn't really have anyplace better to be, but Ace didn't figure that hanging out in bed all day was precisely "old lady" behavior. Not that she really had the first clue what an old lady did all day.

Fighting the urge to bury her head under the Happy smelling pillow, Ace sat up and blearily surveyed the room, hoping for a clue as to where Happy might actually be. Predictably, the walls had no answers for her. Sighing, she patted her hands over her incredibly wild bedhead, and then decided that it was likely beyond redemption anyway.

Ace threw the comforter back just as the door swung open. She squeaked and dove back under it, but heard Happy chuckle before she could manage to get herself sorted out. She heard him shut the door and cross the short distance to the bed. He slid onto the bed just behind her, and she watched him through her lashes, wondering when the thrill of having him would wear off. His hands stroking up her bare back, and brushing her hair over her right shoulder woke all her lazy nerve endings to full awareness.

"How sore are you?" He asked her, his palm moving from shoulder to shoulder, testing her reaction. Happy was relieved by the noncommittal hum Ace answered him with.

"You can't still be tired." He coaxed her, trailing a hand all the way down her spine.

"Mmmm," Ace hummed again, arching into his strokes, "Wide awake."

Happy pulled his hand away quickly as a striking snake, and Ace fell backward.

"Wide awake, huh?" He teased her, leaning over her. She surprised him by closing the inches between their faces and kissing him chastely. The casual affection that clearly wasn't meant as an invitation still unnerved him, but he decided that allowing it cost him nothing, as long as it stayed behind closed doors. He hated that having her was an obvious weakness, and wanted to minimize the risk to her, and to him, so he knew that he wouldn't let her act like this in public.

"Yes, I'm awake." She seemed even younger in the daylight, and he promised himself that he would show her basic self defense when they reached Tacoma. And the moment Tacoma crossed his mind, Happy wanted to take her there. His old charter was one of the only places in the world where Happy didn't feel like he had to watch his back, and he realized that he really needed a few days with her not looking over his shoulder. Besides, Kozik would have run his gigantic mouth about Ace so no one would fuck with him, and almost all the Tacoma boys had old ladies.

"Good. If I pad your tat, can you ride?" He pressed her, wanting to get out of Nevada. "Long distance, I'm trying to get out of the fucking desert."

"Uh, I think as long as you shellac some A&D on underneath, I'd be ok for a while." She looked a little uncertain. "How far are you trying to go?"

Happy stood, pulling Ace with him.

"Why are you always fully dressed and I'm standing around buck nekkid?" Ace sighed, allowing Happy to push her toward the bathroom.

"Because you're young and hot and I'm an old man. Get dressed and get your stuff together and we'll figure out how far we can get. I want to take you to Tacoma, baby."

Ace dug her heels in when they reached the bathroom door. She turned and slid her hands under his cut, pulling his shirt out so that she could feel his skin under her palms.

"You're a lot of things, big man, but old is not one of them." Ace leaned into her man, loving the power she could feel coiled just under his dark skin. "Didn't you used to live in Tacoma?"

"Yeah, spent a few years at their table." Happy ducked out of her reach, not wanting to get distracted by all the nakedness that she seemed determined to rub all over him. He liked that she was so desperate for him, but the pull of Tacoma was slightly stronger than the allure of his old lady's tight body. At least it would be if he got the hell out of their room. "Come across the hall when you're ready."

**No Other Man Alive**

The best part about traveling light, was that it didn't take long to get your shit together. Ace was dressed with her bag in one hand and the supplies to dress her new ink in the other in less than 25 minutes. She knocked on Tig's door, craning her neck to see who might be in the clubhouse while she waited. All she could see was the Prospect wiping down tables, and Judge? No, Jury, with reading glasses perched on his nose, working on some accounting books. At the other end of the hall, there were two girls dressed in scraps of lace fussing with each other's hair.

"Just come in, Ace." She heard Happy from the other side of the door. Turning away from the pair of working girls, Ace juggled her load to get a hand free to turn the knob. Pushing the door open with a hip, she caught sight of Happy and Tig crowding the tiny table, heads together.

"Whatcha doing?" She asked, dropping the bag on the floor. Her nose wrinkled as she caught a whiff of all the bodily odors marinating in the room. Ace assessed Tig for a long moment, wondering if he'd be offended if she opened the window, but decided that he would probably find it amusing. And if he didn't, Happy would be between the two of them, anyway.

"Trying to figure out where to stop. It's about 750 miles to Tacoma, and loverboy doesn't think you can handle it." Tig explained, smirking when he saw her opening the window. He stopped when Happy slapped him in the back of the head.

"Hey." He protested, rubbing the spot.

"He's probably right." Ace admitted, leaning around Happy to look at Tig. Then she saw the road maps spread out on the table and looked incredulously from Happy to Tig and back again.

"Really, guys? Have you never heard of Google Maps? Or Mapquest?" She asked, pulled her iPhone from her pocket with a flourish.

"Gentlemen, meet the interweb. Interweb, the gentlemen." She scrolled through screens and icons, tapping the map app. Then exited to the settings when she saw that the GPS had somehow been turned off.

"Do you have a specific address, or a city, or do you just want a midway point to stop at?" She asked Happy, finally looking up at him when he didn't answer right away.

"Uh, we should probably look for somewhere to hole up in or around Redmond." Happy answered her. "Cheap motel, not a big chain, I don't want to be tracked because we were stupid enough to use a credit card."

Ace raised a brow at him, but silently continued tapping and swiping at the infinitesimal screen, then handed the phone to him. Happy glanced at the screen, and handed it right back to her.

"I don't know how to work that shit." He snapped, and Ace flinched a tiny bit.

"Well there's a Bed & Breakfast 3 miles off of 97 North, it's under $100 a night and doesn't look disgusting." She defended, leaning away from him a little, not enough to actually step away, but Happy felt her trying to find her proverbial footing with him.

"And it has breakfast." Tig pointed out helpfully.

"Well let's fucking roll, then." Happy said, folding the map quickly and shoving into his cut's inner pocket. He grabbed Ace's bag and walked out without looking back at her. She stared after him, then looked to Tig, because she was still holding all the supplies to pad her tattoo.

"Come on, he'll get you squared away." Tig told her, pointedly not touching her as he grabbed his own bag. "I really do like breakfast. Let's go."

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace followed her two road warriors about the clubhouse as they took their leave of the few Indian Hills' Sons there on a weekday afternoon. Slick was the only one who acknowledged her, respectfully wishing her an easy ride. She really felt like an idiot, just nodding back, trailing Happy with her arms full of A&D, bandaging, and tape, just waiting for him to remember that he had to help her.

"Hap!" She finally hissed, exasperated, when he had started for the door.

"Oh, yeah, I guess I need to do that, huh?" He took the load from her. "Turn around, I want this done. I'm itching for fourth gear."

He wasted no time in coating his work with the ointment, efficiently taping a thick pad of bandages across her shoulders. Once he was satisfied that it was securely taped, Happy rubbed it roughly, testing Ace.

"I said, I would be fine, Hap." She glared at him over her shoulder.

"The next one is going right across your stomach so that you can take care of this shit yourself." Happy informed her, tugging on her braid in a caveman show of male dominance.

"Next one? I believe I actually owe _you _some ink, big man." Ace let Happy push her out of the door and into the desert sunlight.

"Yeah, we need to handle that tomorrow in Tacoma." He sighed, balancing their gear, and handing over Ace's leather and sunglasses. "They're going to go apeshit over you there. God knows what the fuck Kozik told everyone."

Ace worked to get herself ready without looking like an idiot in the process. She was tremendously relieved when she only fumbled the cinch on her helmet once. Marinating inside her leather, and trying to figure out why the hell _she _had to wear leather when none of the guys did, Ace was just tucking her piece into the back of her waistband when Tig stepped in close to her. She flinched back, but managed to stand her ground knowing that it was Tig, and Happy trusted Tig with her when he trusted no one else. His instincts served her well, because Tig produced a slightly squashed breakfast burrito from his cut and offered it to her.

"I made sure to grab you something, we wouldn't want Angry Ace coming out because no one remembered to feed you." He explained when her face softened. "You don't have to get all chicked out, it's a fucking burrito."

"Thanks, Tig." She mumbled through a mouthful of burrito.

"Yeah, you're real cute." He shot back with all the sarcasm he could muster.

Happy started his engine and revved, effectively getting their attention. Ace toasted Tig with the last bite before cramming it in her mouth. She looked at Happy's motorcycle with less trepidation than she had leaving Fallbrook. It surprised her that she even looked forward to the ride a little bit. Happy planted his boots and nodded to her, and she felt confident enough to mount from the pegs instead of awkwardly hopping over the seat. When she was settled, Hap dropped a hand to squeeze her knee. Then, with a nod to Tig, they were off.

**No Other Man Alive**

They pulled into the B&B just shy of midnight, Ace navigating from the bitch seat, her phone tucked safely between her stomach and Happy's back. She leaned heavily against his shoulders, grateful for his big back keeping her from falling on her face.

"Hop down, I want to walk it back." He patted her knee and then braced himself to make it easier for her to scramble off. This time without the grace she'd managed in the Indian Hills parking lot. She was sore, but it wasn't terrible, and Happy steadied her before walking his motorcycle back so that it was tight to Tig's Dyna. He dismounted, and surprised her by grabbing her by the hair and kissing her.

"Does this mean I gotta pay for my own room?" Tig complained, shoving into the pair roughly. Happy just kicked Tig's ankle in response.

"I'll cover you until we start earning again. It ain't cushy like Charming, but you'll be flush soon." Hap assured him, keeping Ace trapped against his left side. He slid a hand up under her hair, massaging her neck with a pressure that bordered on painful. "We might have better luck if you go check in. I don't know if Tigger and I are exactly B&B material."

"I hate to break it to you, big man, but your pipes may have spoiled your element of surprise." Ace cracked up, burrowing further into his side as the proprietor opened the backdoor. In her mid seventies, she wore an outrageously orange caftan that should have been hideous, but managed to look effortlessly chic.

"Your young lady is right, but I'm not afraid of a couple bikers. I rode cross country in the summer of '68 on the back of a Harley." She beckoned them into the B&B with a grand gesture, while Ace still giggled uncontrollably into Happy's cut.

**No Other Man Alive**

As soon as the door shut behind them, Happy was on Ace. The thing about distance riding was that there were a lot of miles spent solely in your own headspace, and Happy had burned most of those miles wondering why Tacoma had seemed more important than getting inside Ace. He loved Tacoma's clubhouse, it was more home to him than his mother's house in Bakersfield, but there were always people around and he knew that he wouldn't have Ace to himself again until they left for Quinn's in a week.

He kissed her, one hand undoing her braid, while the left clamped on her hip. It made him uneasy when she opened his cut and started pushing it off his shoulders. He pulled back from her, but she stopped him.

"Let me, Hap. I may not know jack about MCs, but I've watched you for years. Your cut gets hung up. And if there's nowhere to hang it, it gets laid out with the big patch on the back facing up."

"Colors." He corrected her, and let her circle behind him to remove his cut. He watched her hang it on the back of the chair, shrugging out of his shoulder holster without taking his eyes off of her. She took it from him, laying his SIGs and her Glock out neatly on the nightstand closest to the door. Happy found it incredibly erotic. He kept still as she undressed herself, eyes never leaving his. Completely naked, except for the bandage across her shoulders, Ace came back to him. She pulled her hair over her shoulder and presented her back to him.

"You don't want to leave it on for tomorrow?" He asked, but really missed seeing his name on her.

"I'm fine, Hap. It needs air anyway." She just hissed when he ripped the tape off. She took the wad of bandages from him and threw them out.

Happy remained passive when she returned to him again, allowing her to undress him. His gaze was heavy on her as she stroked and explored, running her palms up his stomach and chest, then sliding around to his back. Ace rose up on her toes to kiss him, and he surprised her when he didn't immediately take control of her mouth. Happy just stroked his hands up her waist, rubbing his thumbs over the sensitive skin just on the side of her breasts. It made his cock even harder when he felt her nipples tighten up against his skin.

"Do me, Hap." She breathed into his mouth when she'd grown too anxious waiting for him to dominate her.

Instead of cranking her head back like she no doubt expected, Happy stepped back away from her. She whimpered at the loss of contact, but waited for him while he kicked off his boots and loosened his belt. When he turned his attention back to her, she was flushed and her eyes were hungry.

"Lay down, right on the edge of the bed." He ordered her, crowding her, but not touching her. When she leaned back on her elbows, legs parted for him, he ran a hand from her cheek, down the center of her chest, then spread his hand over her stomach, spanning the stretch of skin between her hip bones. The heel of his hand put the lightest pressure on her pussy, which made her gasp and bite her lip.

"Yeah, right here." Happy growled to himself, seeing it in his mind.

He went to his knees in front of her, wrapping his arms around her thighs and pulling her farther down, so her round little ass was just at the edge. His shoulders forced her legs wide, and he pinned her knees to the mattress, spreading all that pink wide for him. She was already soaked for him, he could smell how turned on she was, so it was unexpected when she sat up, pushing him away.

"No, Happy, you really don't have to do that."Ace's voice was unusually high as she tried to scoot back away from him. He just clamped down on her legs to keep her still.

"I don't _have _to do shit. But I'm the only man alive who has had this pussy, and if I want to bury my face in it, I'm going to." He emphasized his point by licking straight up her slit, then pulling back again. "I never meant a bitch who didn't like getting her pussy licked."

"No, it's not that I don't like it, I mean I don't actually know if-oh _fuck."_ Ace broke off her explanation when Happy sucked her clit into his mouth.

It had been years since Happy had had his mouth on any woman. He actually really loved eating pussy, it just wasn't something he bothered with when he was fucking for function. But with Ace writhing beneath him, he really wanted to take the time to feast on her. He pushed his tongue inside her, and was rewarded when she came right in his mouth. He pulled back, lapping at her folds, loving the taste of her all over his face. She shoved him away when he tried to lick her clit again.

Happy dropped trou, pulling Ace farther onto the bed with him. He kept her right knee hooked over his elbow, using his other hand to guide his cock to her entrance. Slipping into her heat, he groaned, she was so slick and swollen.

"Fuck, you feel so good." He ground out, sliding his arm under her shoulders and resting his forehead on hers.

Ace gripped his biceps, in love with the controlled strength beneath her hands. His body overwhelmed her, but he wouldn't let her look away from him. She'd expected him to fuck her hard once she'd cum, so the slow, hot grind had her off balance. The weight of him pressed into her, and she couldn't catch her breath, panting into his mouth and tasting herself on his breath.

"Jesus, Hap, I-" He cut her off by dropping his head and biting her in the sensitive flesh where her neck met her shoulder.

Happy felt her orgasm again, and groaned into her neck. She was so perfect, her body everything he could have wanted. It was fascinating to him that Ace could clearly have any man at her beck and call, but instead she let him fuck her any way he wanted to and _enjoyed _it. He remembered the way it felt when he'd been fucking her face and she'd hummed around his cock.

"Fuck me _hard, _big man." She begged him, and he kissed her hard enough to bruise her.

"I love your filthy fucking mouth." He growled and pulled back from her. Grabbing her ankles in one hand, he drilled into her, watching his cock stretching her. She was so swollen and tight that he came quickly, his head thrown back and his hand clamped down hard on her leg.

When his heart had stopped hammering his ribcage, Happy pulled his softening dick from her. He got up to grab his shirt to clean himself off. When he had turned to offer it to her, he stopped in his tracks, captivated by the sight of her. Ace was still sprawled where he had left her; she was watching him through her thick lashes, a smug smile on her face. He could see his semen dripping from between her swollen lips, and he wished he could fuck her all over again.

"You look beautiful like that." He grunted awkwardly, and gently began to clean her up. He tossed the shirt off the bed and pulled the blanket over them both. Ace tucked herself against his left side, tracing the faces that covered his abs with one lazy finger. Happy smoked with his right hand, stroking her hair with the other, watching her as she drifted off. When he was sure she was completely out, he kissed her forehead tenderly.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer-Sons of Anarchy belongs to Kurt Sutter, but I have better boobs. I own my OCs and this story, and a Sportster that's very lonely at the moment. *Apparently my page breaks completely disappear when the chapters get published, which makes the flow totally shitty, I'm trying something new, hopefully it works. SORRY!***

Ace woke up hot and sore the next morning. Happy was mostly on top of her, his face buried in her neck. The stubble on his chin scraped painfully across her skin as he began to stir. Ace rubbed his back, tracing the letters of his top rocker without opening her eyes, like reading Braille. She knew he was awake, too, but they both kept silent. Happy yawned, and his eyes flew open when Ace hissed. Courtesy of his position, he got an up close and personal view of the bite mark he'd forced on her the night before.

"Shit, Ace." He rolled off of her, and touched a finger to the purple and red bruise.

"I was wondering why your face scruff felt so sharp." Ace answered, voice still thick from sleep. "Look bad?"

"Yeah, kinda." Happy sat up and lit a smoke. "Does it hurt?"

He watched her carefully as she tested the spot with her fingers, relieved when she shook her head. She stretched hugely, and Happy enjoyed the show her tits put on in the process. He tried to hide the cocky grin on his face, but he wasn't fast enough.

"What's with the face, big man?" Ace asked him, standing in front of him with her arms crossed. It forced her tits higher, which didn't help him erase the look on his face at all. He placed his hands on her hips, fitting his grip to the bruises he'd found there.

"You look like you were rode hard and put away wet, baby." He chuckled, and bent his face to kiss the marks. He didn't see Ace look thunderstruck by the unexpected gesture. Instead he put out his cigarette and flopped back on the bed.

"I'm not going to survive taking you to Tacoma." He groaned.

"You're making me awfully nervous about this. I feel like I'm meeting the parents or something." She complained, and caught sight of herself in the mirror. "And apparently I'm doing it looking like a whore."

"Its fine, baby, I promise. Tacoma is huge compared to Indian Hills, and lots of them have old ladies." Happy dug in their bag, presenting her with a very interesting view of his ass.

"And that has what to do with anything?" Ace asked, laughing both at her own confusion and his undignified position.

"You've met enough MC guys, do you think any of them would judge an old lady for being a little wild in bed?" He pointed out, while pulling on his jeans.

"I guess not, I just didn't expect the evidence to be all over my face." She gestured to her bruised and swollen lips, and the bite mark. "They had you for years. I've had you for about a nanosecond. I'm just worried that they're not going to approve or something."

Ace ducked into the little bathroom, and turned on the water. She was silently cursing herself for letting her mouth run away with her. She was well aware that Happy liked her independence, and she hated that she'd just pulled a classic needy chick move. God, when was she going to stop feeling like that out of control 14 year old constantly watching him walk out the door.

"Hey." Instead of walking out the door, Happy came into the bathroom behind her, right into her space. "Tacoma is my home, and the club is my family, but you've got a place in my life."

Ace dropped her eyes, terrified of what he might see if he really looked, but Happy trapped her face in his hands. Even though she resisted, he forced her to look at him.

"You always have, Ace."

It should have been a really tender moment, and some portion of her brain did register that, but Ace felt the laughter bubbling up and tucked her puffy lips between her teeth trying to stem the outburst. Happy saw it, though, and rolled his eyes, which opened the floodgates. She laughed until she snorted, which only made her laugh harder, so that she was bent over, soundlessly cracking up. Ace shoved him back out into the room and locked the door behind him.

"I have to pee!" She shrieked when he pounded on the door. A dozen slow deep breaths later, she felt like the worst of the storm had passed.

"Better?" He asked when she opened the door to let him in.

"Yeah, I'm good. Sorry for ruining your moment, it just sounded funny, that's all." She explained, stepping into the shower while Happy ran the water to shave at the sink.

"Why's it funny? I've been coming back to you for years." It was easier for him to talk to her while he was shaving his head, he could focus on the repetitive motions and he didn't have to see all her emotions on her face.

"Yeah, but that's the only place I had in your life, waiting for you to come back and get what you needed." Her protest was without accusation, which made it sting all the more. The fact that he felt guilty for the shit she'd been through between his visits really chapped his ass.

"Trust me, I'm going to catch more shit in Tacoma than you will." He assured her. "All I'm going to hear about is what a fucking idiot I was not to have made you my old lady years ago, and how I always said I'd never have an old lady, and why won't I come back to the table. On second thought, let's just skip Tacoma."

Happy changed his mind about showering with Ace and dropped his jeans to the floor. He climbed in behind her, and she smiled at him over her shoulder before ducking under the water to rinse her hair.

"Why didn't you want an old lady? And after all that, I think I want to go to Tacoma. I want you to know that I'm barely resisting bursting into a Monty Python song right now, by the way." She informed him, giggling when he shook his head at her.

"There's something wrong with you." He pivoted her out of the water to rinse his own head. "And old ladies are a liability, I've seen old ladies used against their men, and I didn't think I could afford the weakness."

"But you do now?" Ace tilted her head to the side, measuring his reaction. It was a mannerism that any Son who had worked with Happy would have recognized.

"No. But I want you badly enough to try to fool myself into believing that you won't be my Achilles heel. It's why I'm glad Tig's going to be with me, he's seen all the shit that went down in Charming and he's nearly as ruthless as I am. He'll keep me clearheaded and that's what will keep you safe."

"I'm not worried, Happy. And I swear I'll do my best to make it an easy job." Ace started to get out of the shower, but paused with one foot out of the tub. "You know I'm really good with a gun, right?"

"Get out of the shower; we don't have time for what I want to do to you." He groaned, but couldn't help smiling when she laughed.

It was the easiest they had been with each other, getting dressed and gathering their things, working in a way that almost felt routine. It was soothing to Happy knowing where Ace was without having to look. He craved control, and despite constantly challenging him, Ace still managed to make him feel more settled than he could ever remember feeling in his life. He wasn't an introspective man, but he wasn't stupid, either, and he knew that in some way he'd been seeking her out for so long because she satisfied something in him.

"Let's go before Tig eats all the breakfast." Ace waited by the door, bag in hand. When Happy nodded that he was ready, she pulled the door open.

"What the-!" Ace exclaimed when the man in question literally fell on her feet. Tig blinked up at her and rubbed his face before sitting up.

"Were you sleeping against the door?" She asked incredulously.

"Yeah, sorry." He stood, and his face was spooked. "I couldn't sleep in there, there's like, three dolls just sitting and staring. I hate dolls."

"Really?" Ace asked, trying desperately to keep a straight face, but failing hard.

"You're a cruel woman, Mrs. Perez."

**No Other Man Alive**

"You weren't joking, there are a shton of them!" Ace hissed in Happy's ear when they arrived in the lot behind Tacoma's warehouse and clubhouse.

"One of the largest charters, and probably the most fun. Now hop off so I can park." Ace could see him grinning, and it made her smile, too. She even kissed him lightly on the neck before swinging off.

"Hi, you're Ace."

Ace turned, startled, her boots had barely touched the ground when the bubble gum cute voice popped up right behind her. And the blonde hottie who had spoken wasn't alone, Ace immediately found herself surrounded by a herd of women.

"Um, yeah, hi." She smiled weakly, intimidated by all the close up scrutiny.

"She's gorgeous! Isn't she gorgeous, Cat?"

"I always knew Happy must have good taste."

"Where's he been hiding you?"

Ace couldn't keep up with the rapid fire conversation taking place all around her, so she just kept smiling and pulling off her gear. There was a collective gasp when she slid her leather off her shoulders.

"Oh he marked you already!" The tall brunette with the amazing bitch heels and slightly Southern accent looked and sounded so disappointed that Ace couldn't help herself.

"I'm sorry, were we supposed to wait?" She apologized, looking frantically over her shoulder for Happy, or even Tig.

"No, no, it's fine, sugar, I was just hoping he'd wait until you got here. I'm Cat, Bowie's old lady. Kozik told us next to nothing about you, but we're really glad you're here." She linked her arm through Ace's, gesturing to another woman, who stepped forward and took Ace's helmet and leather from her.

"Oh, thanks." Ace craned her neck, still trying to locate Happy. "It's nice to meet you. Where did-"

"Happy knows better than to try to steal you away from me. Apparently _he's been hiding you for years!" _She raised her voice pointedly, which helped Ace finally figure out where her man had disappeared to. He was in his own knot of humanity, all of it male and leather clad. His face was split in a grin that got bigger when he heard Cat's accusation. He didn't bother to respond, and Ace was a little dismayed when he showed no signs of retrieving her, just saluted sardonically and took the beer someone pressed into his hand.

"Let's get you out of the sun, sugar. Are you hungry?" Cat continued to lead the procession toward the gigantic warehouse, the half dozen or so women following her like she was the pied piper. Or maybe Moses.

"Starving, actually. We didn't stop for lunch, just rode straight through." Ace answered, suddenly desperately aware of her stomach grumbling.

"I figured he would do that to you. Well, I have lots of food going, and it's air conditioned upstairs, and we have Prospects to bring us wine. Welcome to Tacoma, honey!" Cat began to ascend the very long set of stairs along the side of the warehouse.

In minutes, Ace was settled at a long table with a heaping plate in front of her. Tacoma's clubhouse was well appointed, tiled floors, deep blue walls, and leather furnishings from wall to wall. It was utterly masculine, and Ace loved it. She turned her attention back to the ladies who were all staring at her.

"It's all really good." She mumbled, shoving another forkful of food into her mouth, hoping to avoid further attention.

"Let the girl eat!" Another brunette, this one pure pin-up glamour, in leopard cigarette pants and red lipstick, ordered the table. Ace just mouthed her thanks as men started crowding in the door.

Happy didn't hesitate when he walked into the clubhouse, heading straight for her. At least, he seemed to be, until Cat stood up and hugged him tightly around the waist. Ace immediately lost interest in her food, sitting back to observe. She wasn't wild about the tall, willowy beauty receiving such easy affection from Happy, but tried to check any jealousy. Cat had mentioned an old man of her own, and Happy hadn't given her any reason to second guess her place with him.

He knew that she was clocking him, and could read her uncertainty in the tense way she sat. Tacoma had him in good spirits, and he couldn't stand thinking she wouldn't feel the same way about his favorite charter. He disentangled himself from Cat, the President's long time old lady, and stalked to his own woman. She tried not to smile, but looked smug as hell anyway. He leaned down, bracing his hands on either side of her head, forcing her to tilt her head back to meet him when he kissed her.

"Mmmm…" Every time Ace hummed like that, it went straight to his cock. He loved that she never hid her reactions from him.

A chorus of "aaawwws" erupted from the ladies present, and Happy choked out a laugh when Ace rolled her eyes dramatically. He kissed her again, softly this time, just to wind the old lady brigade up even further. His own old lady shot him a dirty look before schooling her expression to a pleasant acknowledgement of the cooing congratulations.

"Sit up." He ordered, hunkering down next to her. She must have read his intention, because she pulled her braid over her should and angled her back toward him so that he could pull the tape off. "Much better."

He was momentarily confused when she began to unbraid her hair, which would cover her ink if she left it down, but she kept her eyes locked on his as she pulled the wild curls all the way up on top of her head, tying the mass into a messy knot that left her ink, and the bite mark utterly unobstructed.

"Jesus, she's perfect for him." Marveled one of the women down the table. Happy didn't look away from Ace to see who had spoken. He rubbed a deliberate thumb over the bruise his teeth had left in her skin.

"Yes, she is." He finally broke away from her eyes and addressed the table. "I expect you to return her in the same condition, got it?"

When the estrogen table all laughed their assent and assurances to return Ace to him in one piece, he kissed her for a third time and stood, knees cracking.

"Good luck." He told her, retreating to the bar and his brothers.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer-I'm too tired to even attempt to be funny, so I don't own the Sons of Anarchy or their recognizable characters. I own this story, my original characters (I don't mind letting them out to play with other writers if it's not one of my central ones and you have permission from me), and a burning rage at being incapable of writing page breaks, which will now be seen as No Other Man Alive, because I can't figure out any other way to do it and the last 11 chapters must look like complete shite to you, and I'm SORRY. As you were.**

Ace tried not to make a face at the pretty pink glass of wine that was still in front of her, but frankly it tasted like sugar and vinegar and a hangover waiting to happen. She desperately wish she could figure out a way to get a good highball of decent whiskey without offending the shit out of the uniformly wine guzzling women sharing her table and her interrogation. Having grown up a half breed outcast in her neighborhood, Ace had less than no clue how to handle the constant barrage of questions from the group. She was hyper aware that Happy called these people his family and this particular charter his home, and then the asshole had chummed the water and left her there. She was trying really hard to answer their questions as vaguely as possible, hoping that would save her from really fucking up and vomiting nerve induced overshare right into their midst.

For the seven hundred millionth time she sought him out, and to her everlasting relief, he was looking back at her this time. Every time previously he had had his back to her, drinking and smoking and eating. It was unnerving that she hadn't been able to pee alone a few days prior, but being in Tacoma put him at such ease that he wasn't even watching her. It eased her a tiny bit that she'd caught Tig watching her a few times, though, when he wasn't too busy bantering with Kozik. Happy had his back to the bar, leaning negligently on his elbows, cigarette in one hand. He wasn't just watching her, he was _studying _her, and Ace hoped that she could always be the focus of his scrutiny. She could feel her body responding to his attention, and it disturbed her how needy he made her feel, physically. She trusted Happy implicitly, but after finding out that the childhood sweetheart she'd thought would be her only lover had a serious prostitution problem, Ace couldn't trust herself to be enough for any man, much less one who was used to getting whomever he wanted when he wanted them.

"Earth to Ace!" Cat commanded Ace's attention, but only briefly. When Cat looked like she was about to continue, Ace quickly interrupted, figuring it was less rude than crawling under the table and screaming if anyone asked her another question.

"Won't you please excuse me?" She practically yelled, and tripped over the chair trying to stand. Face burning, Ace found Happy right where he'd been and nearly cried when he made a show of beckoning her over.

In seconds she was surrounded by him. Standing between his knees, she was protected, and his arms were strong, one tight around her waist and the other cradling her head. Ace buried her flushed face in his neck, breathing in the scent of him, letting it soothe her until the inane urge to cry had passed.

"I think I suck at girl talk. I'm sorry." She mumbled.

"Yeah, and I kinda like my Harley." He laughed at her, easily keeping his grip on her when she tried to squirm out of his hold.

"Asshole." Ace pouted, playing along, knowing that he wasn't going to let her go and very glad of it. "I'm actually a little pissed at you for leaving me like that. It would have been much more humane to just put me in front of an actual firing squad."

"Don't even joke, Ace," He pressed a glass into her hand, and she was thrilled when it turned out to be Jameson, "Cat owns a guns and ammo shop and range, and teaches gun safety courses."

"Really? Huh." Ace absorbed this, and came to the conclusion that in some weird way, it made perfect sense. Happy distracted her from this line of thinking, running a thumb over the bruise on her neck. He looked so strong, and his eyes were dark and hot, and best of all, he was _hers. _"What are the chances that we can sneak away?"

"Slim to none because Bowie's getting ready to talk and he's looking right at us." Happy turned her in his arms, back to his front, resting his chin on her shoulder. It was impossible for her to enjoy the casual affection when literally faced with all the curious gazes from around the room.

Bowie stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled shrilly, cutting through the din. It was immediately quiet, the Sons and their old ladies gathered loosely around their club president.

"Alright, I want to thank all of you for coming out tonight. I know that most of you were on site early this morning and you'll be there again tomorrow, but it always does me proud that this club comes together in support of their own. Happy and Tig may not wear the same bottom rocker anymore, but I think you'll all agree that these guys still belong to us."

There was a low rumble of agreement at Bowie's pronouncement, and a few guys pounded on tabletops. Ace grinned at Happy over her shoulder, it was decidedly odd for her to see him as such a part of a whole, since he'd seemed such a loner to her all these years, but it was a good kind of odd. He squeezed her hip in response.

"So," Bowie continued when the crowd quieted again, "I want to personally welcome the newest member of our family, Ace." He gestured to the pair to join him in the middle of the floor, and Ace felt a little like a deer in several dozen headlights as Happy steered her through the throng.

"I don't think any of us ever thought Happy would settle down with an old lady, so you must be one helluva woman, and you couldn't have picked a better man. I know Happy considers Tacoma a sort of home, and we all hope that you will, too. Cheers!" Bowie toasted them and the response was deafening. So was the laughter when Ace, visibly uncomfortable with all the attention, downed the whiskey in her glass neatly.

"OK before you all disappear on me, and I'm fully aware that most of us have an early start in the morning, I have one more thing on the agenda. You all know there's another national club in town on business. They've paid their toll, so I expect that none of you will start any trouble. That being said, unless you're here or at your home, I want you guys travelling in groups of no less than three patched members. Ladies, I know it's a pain in the ass, and you hate waiting around for escorts, but I've tasked Kozik with making sure you guys get to and from wherever you're going without hassle. Kozik, you pull whoever you need for that. Don't start any shit, guys, but don't take any, either. Be safe out on the road, brothers, and we'll see you all on Friday for Church." Bowie finished his spiel, and kept Happy and Ace from escaping with a raised finger.

Ace felt a little easier when the clubhouse began to clear out a little, and relaxed even further when Happy tucked her in against his right side. She closed her eyes and leaned into him, grateful when he took her weight easily.

"Here, man, just a little something from all of us, we're real happy for you." Ace opened her eyes to see Bowie handing over a yellow bank envelope, bulging suspiciously. She tried not to let her surprise show when Happy took what appeared to be an awful lot of cash and tucked it into the interior pocket of his cut without blinking an eye.

"Thanks, Bowie." The two men clasped their upright left hands together, their mutual trust and friendship evident. Bowie tugged Happy back in when he started to pull away.

"Now, I know you've said that you have no intention of coming off the road for another 5 or 10 years, but you with 2 felonies and an old lady, you need to consider coming back to us. Whenever you're ready, you'll have a seat at that table and a steady paycheck, alright brother?" Having said his piece, Bowie slapped Happy's shoulder and turned him loose. He retreated quickly, not giving Happy a chance to respond. Happy growled in frustration.

"Can we please be anywhere there aren't other people?" Ace begged him from where she'd tucked herself so far into his side that she nearly disappeared.

"Yeah, I want to bring our shit in, though. Are you coming or staying here?" He asked her, starting to disentangle himself.

"Definitely coming. You're not hanging me out to dry again." Ace shuddered, when she saw that a handful of people were still hanging around and watching her and Happy. He chuckled and grabbed her hand to tow her to the door. She was grateful that he didn't stop when his brothers congratulated him along the way, and didn't let go of her hand all the way out to retrieve their bags or on the way back.

Ace did drag Happy to stop when they reached the hallway that led to the dorm rooms. She was transfixed by the double row of mug shots lining the length of the hallway. He tried to tug her in the opposite direction, but she slipped her hand out of his, drifting from picture to picture, stopping in front of the familiar face. She looked from the mug shot back to Happy, he hadn't moved from his spot, his boots planted and his arms crossed.

"Bowie said two felonies. I remember when you were in San Quentin, but you did time here, too?" She asked, and he hated that she looked so guarded.

"Come on, Ace. I'll tell you whatever you want to know, behind a closed door." Happy jerked his head in the opposite direction. Ace trailed a finger across the glass, then returned to his side, noting that he didn't offer his hand this time.

Ace followed him to the last door, expecting another non-descript dorm room like they'd stayed in at Indian Hills, but was quick to find out that wasn't the case when Happy pulled his keys out and unlocked it.

"You have your own room here?" She asked him, feeling more and more lost by the second.

"Yeah, Bowie lets me keep it. He thinks I'll change my mind about staying Nomad." Happy grunted, pulling her inside. He pushed her back against the door, hooking his fingers through her belt loops, so that he could angle her hips into his. He kissed her roughly, shoving his tongue into her mouth. When she didn't moan or rub herself on his dick, he pulled back.

"You're really going to make me explain it all to you, huh?" Happy groaned, pounding a fist lightly against the door, then backed quickly away when Ace flinched.

"Shit."Happy retreated all the way to the bed, giving her space to get her bearings back.

"Sorry!" She groaned, sliding down the door and burying her face in her crossed arms. "I'm sorry, Hap, I don't know why I can't stop being such a spaz."

"No, that was my fault." He waited to see if she was going to get back up, but she kept perfectly still. When it was apparent that she has no intentions of coming back around, he squatted in front of her, close, but not touching.

"I swear I can do better." Ace's voice was very small, a far cry from the gutsy woman he was used to.

"You're fine. That was a bonehead move on my part, just because I'm frustrated with other shit. You're such a tough bitch that I forget sometimes everything you went through because I wasn't there. It drives me fucking insane that I can't kill him for you."

"I just want to be enough." Ace whispered, and rolled her head to one side so that he could see her face.

"What do you mean, enough? Most of the time you're way too much." Happy chuckled low and rough.

"It's not funny. I don't have a fucking clue what I'm doing here, and every single one of those people knew more about you than I do, and I know you've been with a ton of women, and I, I don't fucking know." She ended on a groan.

"Hey, you're doing fine. Every time I turn around someone else is telling me how stupid I was to wait so long with you. They're probably right. And Tacoma's my home, and I spent a lot of years here, but they all just know shit I've done. You know who I am, that's a huge difference." Happy didn't like her on the floor like this, and couldn't figure out how his night had turned from an easy homecoming to reassuring the one person who shouldn't need it. "Is this about the shit your old man pulled in Fallbrook? Because you know I'm not him."

"No, I know that. But I _wasn't _enough for him. And he wasn't half the man you are, so how am I going to be enough to keep a man like you? It's pretty apparent that anywhere we go you can crook a figure and get laid." Ace hid her face again, feeling like a complete ass.

"Yeah, I could. But fucking you makes me feel like I'm a goddamn teenager again, and I'm taking you with me, so why would I need to fuck anyone else? You're my old lady, and the only woman besides my ma that I've ever had in my life, you're never going to have to face a sweetbutt telling you they had me."

"I don't even know what that means." She said.

"Club girls. Not old ladies, but the ones who are here to be had by whoever wants them." He explained, shifting his weight so his knees cracked painfully. Deciding that the floor was definitely not working for him, he staggered back to his feet, groaning a little. Ace took the hand he offered and pulled herself up as well. True to form, Happy didn't give her any space, keeping her a little off balance so that she had to cling to him to keep from falling.

"It's you and me, until I kick it or get locked up. Jax told me a while ago that there's only two ways an old lady makes it, either they know everything or they know nothing. If you need it, I'll tell you whatever you want to know. Just be sure you want to know it, because you can't go back, and I'd be trusting you with knowledge that could put me away for life or get me killed." Happy was sure she could handle it if she had to, just not sure that she'd want to. It would definitely be easier for him if she did know it all.

"Can I work on you?" Ace asked, tracing some of his forearm ink. "I need something to keep me focused for this conversation."

"Yeah. Yeah, you owe me some ink anyway. And that's a decent place to start."

They went back out to the main room, where Tig and Kozik were sitting at the bar, trying to throw pretzels in each other's beer.

"Well that was quick." Kozik chimed in when he noticed them.

"That's what your mom said last time, too." Tig responded, dodging Kozik's backhand easily.

"Hey, since I'm taking Tiggy to the cleaner's after Church, you want to take a shot at Lorca? He's a big bastard." Kozik pulled a sheet of paper down off the bulletin board.

"Yeah, it's been way too long since I've had a decent brawl." Happy answered gleefully.

"Table, chair, or bar?" He asked Ace.

"Well what else am I working on besides adding another face?" She asked, doing a quick scan of his extensive sleeve work.

"Well, you can rework my serpent-" He started, and shook his head when Kozik and Tig wheezed with laughter. "Shut the fuck up. Christ. Or you can put your name on me, then you don't have to worry about any bitches not knowing who I go to bed with. Whatever you want."

Ace carefully considered the offer, watching him strip off his cut and lay it across the bar, colors up. He pulled his shirt off next, and she circled him, trying to figure out where she'd even put any original work. His tattoos covered his entire torso and both arms. There were memorials done in beautiful script, the serpent covering his stomach and chest, and of course, the summary of his life from shoulder to shoulder, 'I live, I die, I kill for my family.'

"Can I put it right here?" She asked tracing the space from collarbone to collarbone. "Americana style? And I want to touch this up, too, you let it get faded." She added, tapping the mantra.

"I told you, whatever you want." He answered, standing with his hands behind his back, letting her play.

"Will anyone care if I'm climbing all over the bar? The lighting is a thousand times better over here." Ace had already slung her kit up on the bar, ready to get to work.

"Not at all, sweetheart." Kozik answered, then jerked a chin at the Prospect still waiting around. "Disappear."

"Good call. Indian Hills had a Prospect that almost lost his fucking eyes down her shirt." Happy swung up on the bar, lying flat, using his rolled up shirt as a pillow. "There are outlets under the bars."

Ace lined everything she needed on the bar, going around to snag a roll of paper towels. She climbed up on a bar stool to open Happy's belt and jeans. Their eyes were locked, and the atmosphere grew very charged and intense. Every time he had come to her, it had been a powerful experience. Ace had spent so much of her life marking time by marking this man, and the thrill of having him under her hands, and changing his skin had only increased. It was a strange duality of still being in awe of his power and lethality like she had been as a teenager and also feeling like, for some small time, she had command over him.

Preparations complete, Ace kissed the first piece she'd ever tattooed. Happy watched his woman, remembering the girl she had been, and utterly soothed by the continuity. With the first touch of the needle, like always, Happy's mind slowed and all the shit fell away. His first club hit had lit him up, but trusting Ace with the needle, and her trusting him to guide her through it had instantaneously settled and centered him, and he'd been chasing the feeling ever since.

"You said these were a good place to start." Ace prompted him, making quick work of the black outline.

"Good a place as any. Have you figured out what they stand for?" Happy knew she had to have some idea, but wanted to gauge what she knew. He noticed when she glanced around uneasily. "The one place you don't have to ever watch what you say is here."

"So they're people you've killed, right?" Ace tried hard to look nonchalant, shooting him a dirty look when he chuckled at her efforts.

"Not exactly. I don't mark every single kill. Just club sanctioned hits." He continued to observe Ace, knowing that this was a distinction that might matter to her.

"And the others? The ones that weren't sanctioned?" She finished with the smiley face, wiping and dressing it.

"Battle casualties. Collateral damage." So far, Happy couldn't detect any unease in her, just absorbing the information. He grabbed her arm after she had moved her wells of ink up above his head.

"I don't do what I do because it's fun. But I don't regret it, either. I will do whatever it takes to protect my club, my family." He wanted to kiss her, but she was pulling her arm from his grasp, and disappointed, he let her go. She surprised him when she climbed up on the bar with him, throwing a leg over him.

"I think I should be insulted." Ace informed him drily, moving to prep the blank area across the base of his throat. Happy anchored a hand on the back of her thigh, ostensibly to steady her, but mostly to distract himself from having her at this throat.

"Yeah, why's that?" He asked, nervous as hell about the razor she had so close to his jugular. He felt eyes on him, and guessed that Kozik was measuring him. Kozik had been there the night Happy had nearly been garroted. He'd made his peace with meeting a bloody death, but the panic that came with strangulation wasn't ever going to be something he'd square with.

"You keep saying that I know you. And I put those words on you," Ace rubbed her gloved thumb across the words she'd touch up when she was done with this piece, "Yet, you keep thinking I'm going to freak out."

"Rock steady bitch, huh?" Happy squeezed her leg, grinning at the top of her head, which was all he could see.

"I mean, it's a lot. But my earliest memories are of you fighting, usually over someone insulting your mom." She paused, reassessing the canvas, planning her spacing and font size. She glared at him when he laughed, shaking her.

"I was a punk."

"No, you were a man defending your family. That's always what I've…admired about you. All I wanted was to be inside that circle, because I _like _that you're not some white collar pussy, you're a man that will do whatever it takes. It's hot as hell." She sat up and rolled her shoulders, then retested her rig. "Ready?"

"You cool, Hap?" Kozik appeared at his elbow, and Happy ground his teeth.

"Yeah, I'm good. Let's get it going." Happy bit out, tucking both hands back behind his head.

"Want me to stay here?" Kozik started to pull a stool up.

"Nah, man, I'm fine. Give us some space, Koz." Happy saw Kozik's surprise, but he stepped off back to the end of the bar, shoving Tig as he passed.

"They're really always like that?" Ace asked, outlining the three letters of her own name, smug because the tops of the letters would clearly be visible, even with a shirt on.

"Always." Happy closed his eyes, trying to recapture the endorphin buzz. Ace was quiet for a while, hopefully concentrating on her work.

"Bowie said you had two felony convictions?" Wrong. She'd been figuring out which of his buttons to push.

"Yeah, there's the ADW from back in Bakersfield, and since I had a semiauto on me, I got 8 years for that. You knew about that. I got arrested here for misdemeanor. I pissed in a cop's gas tank." He cracked an eye and shrugged when her head popped up. Kozik was laughing behind him.

"That was a great fucking night." Kozik howled. Happy just shook his head, not wanting to explain right now.

"Kozik can tell you some other time if you want to hear it. The other felony is from my time in Charming. Almost the entire charter got popped on a federal gun charge, but thanks to a deal Jax put together, we served short time. 14 months in Stockton. Tig was there, too."

"OK, that's not good, but why did Bowie seem so worried about it?" Happy felt his stomach drop at the question. It was the one he'd hoped she wouldn't ask.

"Three strikes. Another violent felony conviction and I face a life sentence." That time he felt her hesitate. She looked up at him again, and he read the panic in her eyes. "Stop. I'm good at what I do, I'm not going to get caught."

Ace sat back again, and Happy could tell that she knew he was lying, but instead of calling him on the line of bullshit he'd just fed her, she just wiped down her work.

"Do you want me to keep it straight black or add some color?" She asked, blinking away the unsettling thought of Happy being taken away from her.

"Do you have the cyan we used on my gremlin?" He pointed his chin to his left bicep.

"Yeah, I have a little bit left." She leaned forward, rooting in her kit above his head, left hand braced next to his face.

"Hap, you motorboatin' sonofabitch!" Kozik copped a redneck accent, and Ace looked up at him, confused, which gave Happy the exact opening he needed. He buried his face in her cleavage and blew briskly.

Ace was openmouthed in shock and the three men cracked up. Happy let out a grunt as she deliberately dropped all her weight on his gut, which made Kozik and Tig laugh even harder.

"Are you quite done, yet?" Ace sighed theatrically, trying not to smile as she literally rode the waves of Happy's laughter.

"Yeah, I'm good." Happy grinned when she leaned warily back over him to finish pouring the ink.

"So, just playing devil's advocate here." She arched a brow at him before continuing to work on her own brand. "What happens to me if you do go back inside?"

"Prison clause!" Tig and Kozik sang together.

"Shut your fucking mouths, douchebags!" Happy was legitimately pissed, and Ace had to wait for him to settle back down.

"What's prison clause?"

"The club allows old ladies the chance to have their needs met elsewhere with no consequences if their old man gets locked up. It never ends well." Happy looked dangerous, muscles coiled. Ace put the final touches on the E and put her tat gun aside. She stretched out on him, putting her chin just below her handiwork.

"Calm down, big man. You weren't my first, but you're definitely my last." He pulled her further up so he could kiss her.

"Good." He growled into her mouth. "I'd make whatever arrangements I could for you before I got locked up, and the club would handle the rest. Now get up and finish my ink so we can get to bed."

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer-I can claim ownership of this story, my OCs, and the men of my husband's club, but sadly, not the men of Sons of Anarchy, Ol' Skool Rodz magazine, or Playboy magazine although I do own copies of both. Also, please don't actually use the Queen's Wave; it's a good way to get your ass kicked.**

Happy came half awake to the pitch dark of his familiar Tacoma dorm. He was groggy, and it took him a minute to place the warm weight that was on top of him, rocking slowly. His body had already responded, his cock hard and ready. As soon as he cracked an eye, he saw that Ace had been waiting for him.

"That's right big man, wake up."

Happy struggled to orient himself, and to open his eyes again. He and Ace had fallen into bed fairly late, after some quick, utilitarian sex. He couldn't tell what time it was without rolling over to check the clock, and that wasn't much of an option with Ace straddling him, rubbing herself all over the hard on she'd no doubt manufactured.

"What are you doing?" His voice was like ground glass, barely more than a whisper, and he summoned enough strength to run his hands up her thighs, even though he couldn't bring himself to pick his head up.

"Fuck me, Hap." Ace was begging, and despite knowing that something was definitely off with her, he couldn't deny her. "Please, Hap, just do me hard, I need you."

She was reaching between them, no doubt intending to slide herself onto him. She was clearly wet enough, her slick folds were gliding easily over his dick. He caught her wrist, and twisted, rolling Ace off of him. Before she could protest, and somehow he knew that she would, he followed. She opened her legs wide to him, but he jacked her left knee even higher. He caught both her wrists in his left hand, pinning them over her head, leaning heavily on them. He lined himself up at her entrance, but deliberately didn't push into her.

"Happy, please." Ace mewled, trying to buck her hips, but he kept himself out of her reach easily. "Fuck me hard, Hap."

Not even certain that this was really happening; Happy gave into her begging, slamming into her hard enough to make her cry out. He wanted to stop to make sure she was alright, but couldn't hold himself back from riding her ruthlessly. Instead of easing him, it made everything more and more surreal when she kept pleading. It was over quickly, and he wasn't even sure whether or not she'd come. Happy collapsed on her, already drifting as his breathing slowed. He released her hands, and she wrapped them around his shoulders, holding him to her, even though he wasn't going anywhere. If he had been awake he might have heard her whisper into the dark.

**No Other Man Alive**

It was a relief to him that Happy woke immediately this time when Ace left the bed. He was still face down on the bed and could smell their combined sweat still lingering in the sheets. Ace was walking to the bathroom naked, and he could see that her stride was off. She didn't look back at him, but she did leave the door wide open, so he could hear her use the toilet and turn on the shower. He took voyeuristic pleasure in watching her through the clear glass. When she stepped back into the water, out of his view, Happy rolled to his back, stretching slowly to work out all the kinks of his age. He rubbed a hand over his head and face, feeling every mile of his age and then some. With a grunt, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up. He stayed still, only moving his hand to his mouth to smoke his morning Marlboro, mind racing to make sense of his memories from the night before.

The water was still running when he'd smoked to the filter, so Happy went to test his reception in the bathroom. Ace had her face turned up to the spray, letting the water run down her body. She smiled over her shoulder when he slid the glass open. He took it for an invitation, climbing in behind her. He pressed against her back, the hot water stinging his new ink, making him hiss. Ace leaned into him, careful to keep her head and hair off of his ink. Her eyes were closed, and she looked completely peaceful, so he wrapped an arm across her chest and rested his chin on top of her head.

They stayed like that for several long minutes, silent under the water. Happy was content with the quiet until Ace brought her hands up to grip his arm and he saw the dark smudges marking her wrists. Stepping away, he turned her to study her skin, finding another dark mark on the inside of the thigh he vaguely remembered cranking up. He dragged a finger across it contemplatively.

"Hap, I'm _fine._" He looked back to her face to find her rolling her eyes, and suddenly pissed, he grabbed one of her wrists, squeezing deliberately until she winced.

"What the fuck was that shit last night, Ace?" Happy demanded, his throat on fire from the effort of speaking first thing in the morning.

"You didn't like being woken up for a middle of the night sack session?" Ace's voice fell flat of the teasing note she'd been trying for, and with a twist, she yanked her wrist from his grasp. She didn't make it far, though, because he traded a one handed grip on her wrist for a two handed one around her upper arms.

"I'd like it fine if that's all it was."

"I don't sleep much, Hap." She dropped her eyes, looking vulnerable and more than a little angry at being caught out. "It fucks with my head sometimes. I won't do it again if you don't want me to."

"It's fine." He relented, letting go of her arms and running his hands through the impossibly heavy curtain of her hair. "Just wake me all the way up next time."

**No Other Man Alive**

It was still pretty early when they made it out to the deserted main room of the clubhouse, well before 9:00. There was no one around except a pair of Prospects, cleaning in the kitchen.

"Where is everyone?" Ace asked, because it was clear that people had been and gone.

"Bowie owns a construction and contracting business. Most of the guys here work for him. They're generally out before 7:00. It's a good gig, it makes all the guys enough legal money to live on, with insurance and shit, and they don't have to fight a boss if they need time off for club business."

"Huh." She rolled that over in her mind, looking back at him. "That's pretty smart."

The Prospects served up two plates of eggs, with toast and bacon, on the bar only minutes after they'd sat down and without being asked. Ace watched the two men, both young, probably early twenties. She shifted her attention from the Prospects, who were mopping now, back to her old man, studying him.

"What?" It was more of a demand than a question.

"Trying to picture you as a Prospect. Or doing construction." She admitted, pushing her plate away, still fairly stacked with food.

"Union certified electrician." Happy smirked at her surprised expression. "What? Did you think I was just a dumb gun runner?"

"No, I know you're not dumb, I just never pictured you punching a time card." She deliberately ignored the gun running comment, pushing down the anxiety.

"It was aight. And Prospecting sucks, but it doesn't last forever, and there's some satisfaction to be had in serving the men who will be your brothers."

The more nervous looking Prospect approached them warily, bussing their dishes, then stopped.

"Are you Happy?" He asked, scanning the ink on Happy's chest and arms, exposed because he'd opted not to bother with a shirt.

"Yeah, I'm fucking overjoyed." Happy deadpanned.

"Hap!" Ace hissed reproachfully, which cause the poor Prospect to look her way, momentarily relieved.

"Hey!" Happy stood abruptly, and the Prospect jumped back. "Don't you look at my old lady. Who told you that you could eye fuck my old lady?"

"No one, sorry, sir." The Prospect dropped his eyes to the bar immediately. Ace stared at Happy in openmouthed shock, but then he grinned at her, and she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." He growled at the Prospect. "Now what did you need me for?"

"Oh, uh, just supposed to tell you that Kozik and Tig stayed up all night and took care of escorting all the old ladies this morning. Tig said you knew how to get ahold of him. Sir."

"Yeah, I do. Who's down in the office today?"

"I don't know, I could check if you want."

The other Prospect came out to the bar, coffee in hand.

"Maryanne is downstairs. I think she has Colton with her, too." The Prospect told him, and he was much more comfortable than the other Prospect, still standing with his eyes down and dishes in hand.

"Penny, good to see you, man. Bowie didn't tell me you had finally decided to Prospect. How long til your time is up?" Happy looked genuinely, well, happy to see the younger man.

"I'm 9 months in, so at least another 3 before anyone considers calling a vote." Penny replied. "Want some more coffee? Ma'am?"

"You'll get your rocker, man, you've been a friend to the club for a long time. And we're good on coffee, I'mma take her down to see Maryanne then we're rolling out to Cat's place to shoot."

"Sounds good. Want me to call Kozik to come roll with you?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Thanks, man." Happy was already pulling Ace to her feet.

"Penny?" She mouthed at him, when the Prospects headed back to the kitchen, the man in question anything but feminine with a huge beard and rock hard arms.

"Ha, yeah, he's been a hangaround for a lot of years. He'd think about Prospecting, then disappear for a few months, but he always turned back up, like a bad penny." Ace snorted at the explanation.

"And who are Maryanne and Colton?" She asked, following Happy down the exterior stairs.

"Maryanne is Donut's old lady, and Colton is their son. I think he's 5 now."

Happy pushed her through the door into a much nicer office than Ace had expected. Through the big windows, she could see the warehouse floor with equipment and supplies from floor to ceiling. She only barely saw the blond blur that zipped past her and tried to tackle Happy around the knees.

"Hey little man." Happy greeted the boy, holding his fist out for a knuckle tap. "You been taking care of your ma?"

"Yep!" The little boy popped the 'P' and turned to point at Ace. "Who's she?"

Hap squatted, knees popping, down to the kid's level. "That's my old lady, Ace. Ace, this is Colton."

She solemnly took the boy's hand and shook it. "Very nice to meet you."

"She's pretty." The boy informed Happy, a very cocky grin on his face.

"Get your own, dude, this one's mine." Happy stood back up, shaking his head at the kid. "Where's your mom?"

"She's right here! I thought I heard you, Happy!" A plump woman with a kind face came sailing through the door behind them. She squeezed his hand, then turned to Ace. "You must be Ace, I'm Maryanne, Donut is my old man."

"Oh. Nice to meet you." Ace shook the woman's hand, trying to remember whether she'd met Donut or not.

"Oh, don't even try, sweetie. There are entirely too many of us to keep straight." Maryanne waved a hand dismissively, and then focused in on the bite mark still clearly visible on Ace's neck. "Jesus, Happy, she's your old lady, not a chew toy."

"Jealous old Donut isn't any good in the sack?" He teased right back.

"Hmph." Maryanne didn't bother responding, just changed the subject. "Bowie wanted to know if you wanted to clock in later. He's got a residential wiring job that needs to get done sooner rather than later."

"Yeah, I can do it. We'll come back here around three. Bowie's putting on the full court press, huh?"

"You know he's not going to give up until you come back." Maryanne sat at the desk and put glasses on, getting back to her work, her son mimicking his mother with crayons and a coloring book.

"Not gonna happen. I'm too much a one percenter to settle back into a charter, it makes me claustrophobic."

"Don't shoot the messenger. Here's the address. Make sure you get someone to ride out with you."

"Koz and Tig are on their way, we're going out to Cat's for a while." Happy was retreating, holding the door open for Ace. "Colton, you keep your mom under control, you hear?" He managed to pull Ace out of the door and close it just before the pen Maryanne had thrown hit it.

"Come on, let's get our shit, I don't want to wait around longer than we have to." Happy was already taking the steps three at a time.

**No Other Man Alive**

"You're really not putting a shirt on?" Ace asked Happy when they were back down at his Harley.

"Nope. It's gonna sting like a bitch just closing my cut." He replied, checking her Glock before stowing it in his hardbag. "That registered?"

"Of course. And I could have just covered up your ink so it wouldn't rub." She pointed out. "I'm going to have to touch it up in a few weeks. Is this always how you treat my work?"

"Chill out. You can touch it up whenever, it's not like I gotta ride all the way to Fallbrook if it heals weird." He tugged on her braid and handed her helmet over, just as Tig and Kozik turned into the lot.

"Sun's out, guns out!" Kozik yelled over the sound of his engine, planting his boots and flexing his left arm.

"You live in fucking Washington, the sun's never out, you stupid shit." Tig complained. "Hurry up, Cat has a couch in her office with my name on it."

Kozik revved his engine, drowning out whatever else Tig had to say, which left Ace laughing. When Happy nodded to her, she braced her hands on his shoulders and mounted up. She wrapped her arms around him, genuinely glad to be back on her bitch seat. Kozik checked to make sure both motorcycles were ready to roll, then revved again and pulled out, Tig and Happy close behind.

They rode through the city of Tacoma in a tight formation, and Ace rested her chin on Happy's shoulder, watching the city go by. She saw a group of 5 motorcycles coming toward them from the opposite direction, left hands extended out and down. Kozik and Tig both followed suit, but Happy waited until the last second and then busted out a completely ridiculous pageant queen wave just as the riders flew by. Ace was the only one of their group who saw it, and threw her head back, laughing loudly. Happy dropped his hand and squeezed her knee approvingly.

**No Other Man Alive**

"Alright, you all set?" Happy asked, handing over a set of ear pro. Ace nodded, concentrating hard on keeping a straight face. She had three clips laid out, and knew that Happy and Kozik had low expectations.

"Head or heart?" Ace asked, still maintaining her innocent face, but Hap had narrowed his eyes at her, so she must have slipped at least a little.

"Just go for body shots, sweetheart, we want to see what you're working with." Kozik was casually condescending.

Ace deliberately fumbled the clip, sliding it in awkwardly. She turned sideways to the lane, Glock pointed down in an easy grip. She looked over her shoulder to where Hap lounged and smirked. In the next instant, she pulled the slide, and emptied the clip quickly, keeping every single round within a 2 inch circle. She smoothly released the magazine, slamming another one home, and this time took aim right between the target's eyes. Having finished the second clipped, she field stripped the Glock and laid it next to the last full clip.

"Holy. Shit." Kozik was slack jawed, staring at her in amazement. Ace just smiled sweetly up at him, then turned to catch Happy's reaction. His hands were steepled in front of his face and he tapped a finger twice, then stood. He stalked to where she stood and placed another full clip on her ledge, then silently replaced her target. This time he didn't let off the button until the target reached the range's farthest position.

"Again." He told her, returning to his spot.

This time Ace didn't bother with the theatrics, she was locked and loaded and firing seconds after Hap's nod. This target was just as tight as the last one.

"Did I do ok?" She asked Kozik, grinning widely.

"Have you been working with her, Killah?" Kozik addressed Happy, assuming that must be where she'd acquired her skill.

"No. She said she was good, but I didn't expect her to be that good." Happy admitted, studying his old lady closely.

"My husb-, uh, my…." She trailed off, not sure what to call her late husband.

"Yeah the shitbag, got it." Happy broke in, not thrilled with where this was going.

"Yeah, him. He spent a lot of time at the indoor range on weekends trying to qualify for a sharpshooting team. So, it was either join him when I was off of work, or not see him." Ace explained.

"I'm equal parts terrified for my own safety and turned on right now." Happy continued to study her. "Can you do that with other calibers, or just your own piece?"

"I'm better with this, but I started with a little .22 and I'm decent with a G38."

Happy considered her for a moment longer, then turned his gaze to Kozik.

"What are you carrying these days?" He asked, already pulling one of his own P220 Match Elites from beneath his cut.

"G39, it's probably pretty similar to what she's used to. Want to see her fire it?" Kozik handed over his own pistol and dug a couple spare clips from the bag on the table.

Happy returned to her side, laying his SIG down, too. He put his hands on her hips, pulling her ass right into his hard on.

"You gonna keep shooting like that, or are you a one trick pony?" He breathed into her ear, trying to unbalance her. Kozik had pointedly turned his back, pretending to be very interested in the wall. Ace ground her ass into him.

"Oh, I know all kinds of tricks, big man." She grinned over her shoulder at him, then went to work on the G39 disassembling, then reassembling it, finally sliding the clip in and pulling the slide. She pulled her ear pro into place as Hap backed up half a pace and leaned against the lane divider. Her first shot went a little wide, but still hit solidly in the chest, and she corrected, finishing the clip right where she wanted to. She looked back at Hap questioningly, and he tapped his ear, indicating that he wanted to tell her something.

"Try my piece. It's going to kick a little harder than Kozik's Glock. SIGs pack a lot of punch."

It spoke volumes when she took the time to familiarize herself with the P220. Hap and Kozik both lit cigarettes, twin pillars of scrutiny on either side of her. It didn't faze her, though, and she didn't rush the process. When she was ready, she pulled her ear pro back into place and shot slowly, getting to know the action. On her second clip, she fired quickly, and surprisingly accurately.

"Daddy can we keep her?" Tig drawled, joining the party.

Happy flipped him the bird, then took the SIG from Ace's hand, turning it sideways and emptied the last remaining clip into the target's head. It was so casual, he hadn't even bothered to square with the target, still off center behind Ace. It told Ace more about his experiences in the club than anything he had said the night before.

"Nice shooting, baby." Happy kissed the top of her head.

"Clay called." Tig informed Happy.

"Yeah? Is he pissed at you?"

"He's furious with both of us. Thinks you're going to get soft with an old lady. Said the club needed you more."

"Well fuck Clay very much. His old lady practically runs Redwood."

"Fair warning, Jax is gonna come calling. He wants you back in Charming, and now that he knows your old lady tattoos, too, he's gonna push you and Quinn hard on it."

"The prince can push all he wants, bad shit happens in Charming, and I don't want any part of his Cartel deal."

"Jesus, Hap, say it a little louder." Kozik narrowed his eyes significantly at Ace. Deciding that she didn't really want to hear about anything involving a Cartel anyway, Ace put her ear pro back on and reloaded her G19.

**No Other Man Alive**

"Do I have to stay in the room again?" Ace asked, a little petulantly, as Happy changed into work clothes.

"Nah, not here. It's probably only gonna be the single guys, though, so pay attention. Penny'll keep an eye on you if you need anything." Happy kissed her hard, wishing that he'd turned down Bowie's work so that he could climb onto the bed with Ace and hopefully shake the semi-disturbing memories of last night's experience. "Be good, baby."

Ace sat on the bed, looking around her. She snooped through the drawers, pausing to smell a t-shirt. She flipped through a copy of _Ol' Skool Rodz, _and a couple _Playboys. _Having exhausted all the entertainment that Happy's dorm room had to offer, Ace grabbed her sketchbook to use as social armor and headed to the door. She opened it a crack and heard male voices, then closed it again.

"Pussy." She scolded herself, rolling her eyes at her own cowardice. Everyone here was a trusted friend of Happy, so she had absolutely nothing to be worried about. Taking a deep breath, Ace walked out into the hallway, which was blissfully empty. The main room was less empty, and a definite sausage fest. She stopped short of actually entering the room, considering a strategic retreat back to the dorm room until Happy got back.

"Hey, Hap's girl came out to play!" A baritone called attention to her lurking in the shadows. Mentally pulling on her big girl panties, Ace waved awkwardly to the room and high tailed it to a table with decent natural lighting.

"Can I getcha anything, Ace?" Penny popped up at her elbow before she even had a chance to set herself up.

"Oh, um, thanks Penny. Can I get anything that's not soda or alcohol?" She asked, and he smiled when she remembered his name.

"I've got some sweet tea, will that be alright?"

"Perfect."

Ace lost herself in working on a pencil drawing of Happy that he'd interrupted in Indian Hills. It amazed her that even asleep, he looked completely in control of himself.

"Ace, how ya doing?" An exceptionally large man spun the chair next to her around and sat with his arms across the back.

"I'm good. I'm sorry, who are you?" Ace moved to close her book, but he stopped her, turning it toward him, whistling softly in admiration.

"Lorca. You really are quite the artist, huh? Was it really you who inked Happy?" The giant tapped the base of his own throat in demonstration.

"Yep." Ace couldn't hide her grin, glad to know that her man wasn't hiding his new ink. "I've been tattooing for 15 years."

"And you're good, right?" Lorca pushed, waving Penny away after he handed Ace her drink.

"Very. I specialize in Americana, pin up, and Latino script, but I'm pretty good with anything that's not a portrait. Are you looking to get inked, Lorca?" She pulled her sketchbook back, closing it, because the drawing of Happy was more intimate than she really cared to share with a stranger, brother or not.

"Yeah, I was hoping you could do this in blue and black Americana." He pointed to a patch on his cut.

"Men of Mayhem? Yeah, I mean, I don't know what the club's rules are, but as long as that's fine, I can do that for you." Ace stuttered, trying to figure out if the guy was serious or just testing her.

"As long as you're only putting club tattoos on club men, it's fine, there aren't really limitations. Besides, the responsibility lands on whoever asked for the tat, not the old lady who put it there." Lorca reasoned with her.

"OK. Well how big and where is it going?" Ace asked, itching to go to work. She was used to constantly feeding her need to tattoo and the taste she'd gotten working on Happy wasn't nearly enough to satisfy her.

"About yay big, and right across my ribs, here." Lorca held up his thumb and forefinger about 3 inches apart, measuring it on his right side.

"OK, well I'd charge $350 and it would take about an hour and a half. When do you want to do this?" Ace was all business now.

"How about now? I got nowhere else to be." Lorca pulled his wallet from his pocket and counted out the cash.

"Now?" Ace asked, stupidly staring at the pile of cash. "Uh, sure. The best light is by the bar. Can you hold your arm up while I work or do you need to lay down?"

"I'm sure I'll be fine. Let's rock and roll." Lorca pulled her up with him, and he looked twice as big standing.

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy, Kozik, and Tig climbed the stairs to the clubhouse in the rain. It was almost 7:00, later than Happy had wanted to be back, especially knowing that Ace was on her own. It bugged him that not seeing her for a few hours made him so edgy. All he wanted was a hot shower and Ace, and to not talk to anyone else. He loved Tacoma, but in such a big charter, there was always someone talking, and all the noise made him tired. He dragged himself up the last few stairs behind Tig and Kozik, and when the two exchanged a wary look, Happy found that he wasn't tired at all.

"What?" He asked, pushing past them into the room. Ace had her back to him, and he was briefly thrilled to see her hair up, leaving his name unobstructed. The good feelings evaporated when he noted that Lorca, that big bastard, was sitting perpendicular in front of her, shirtless.

"Hey, Hap! Your girl's a genius with a needle!" Lorca waved from his perch. Ace stopped, and turned, a huge smile on her face. It faded the second she caught sight of his face, becoming more worried the closer he got.

"How long do you have left?" He asked her directly, ignoring Lorca completely.

"Only just a few minutes, I was just finishing some shading. Hap-"

"I think you're done now." He cut her off. "Go back to the room. I'll bring your stuff."

"Are you serious?" Ace was obviously beginning to get pissed.

"Dead serious."

"Happy, it's my fault, I told her it was fine." Lorca tried to break in, but Happy ignored him altogether.

Ace set her gun down on the bar with deceptive care, and snapped off her gloves. She sailed past Happy without looking at him, jaw set at a hard angle. At a nod from Happy, Tig followed her, but when she reached the room she shared with Happy, she slammed the door in Tig's face.

Happy hadn't moved, still standing in the clubhouse with his boot planted and his arms crossed. He waited a long moment while Lorca tried to explain, giving Tig time to get Ace out of the room. When he was sure she'd reached their room, using the slammed door as a safe indication, he grabbed the back of Lorca's head with his right hand and dug the knuckles of his left fist into the raw skin his wife had been kind enough to leave for him.

"You're goddamn right it's your fucking fault." He growled in Lorca's ear, oblivious to Kozik trying to pull him off.

"I didn't think you'd be this pissed, man, I'm sorry!" Lorca's teeth were gritted against the pain in his side.

"Not as sorry as you're going to be." Happy relented, allowing Kozik to pull him backward. "I'm going to beat the fucking piss out of you, count on it."

"Okay, come on, Killah, calm down." Kozik dragged him into the hallway, and shoved him toward Tig. "I think you pissed off your old lady."

"Oh that's nothing compared to what I'm about to do." Happy promised and flung the door open. "What. The. Fuck. Ace?" He ducked just in time to avoid getting clocked in the face by one of his own heavy belt buckles, although Kozik wasn't quite as lucky, taking the projectile right on the cheekbone. In retaliation he shoved Happy hard through the door and closed it.

"Three to one, Ace draws blood." Tig leaned against the doorframe, settling in. "She doesn't have her Glock in there, does she?"

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer-Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mourn the fact that none of us own any of the fictional characters from Sons of Anarchy. I do own this story (which just passed 100 reviews, I feel like I owe you guys a really dirty one shot or something), my OCs, and a box of tissues with lotion that my husband's MC state president dropped off after work because I ran out and my nose is a delicate being.**

"What the fuck, _Ace?_" She growled right back at him and let fly another belt buckle. "I really don't know what the fuck you're pissed about, but fuck you very much if you think I'm going to let you treat me like a child!"

"Throw one more thing at me, Ace, and I swear to Christ I'm going to throw it back." Happy caught the buckle one handed, and tossed it up, catching it again. "I don't fucking get it. I'm gone for not even five goddamn hours and you've got your hands all over one of my brothers? Are you that fucking desperate for attention?"

Ace's eyebrow flew up and her mouth moved, but she couldn't even form the words to tell him to go fuck himself. She turned her back on him, ignoring the angry growl at what he probably read as an insult.

"Don't turn your back on me."His voice came from dangerously close behind her, and any sanity Ace might have had evaporated instantaneously.

"Or what? Huh, Hap?" She found him inches from her when she spun around, and shoved him. Predictably, he didn't move an inch.

"You're my old lady. I fucking _married _you. You can begin to repay that by keeping your hands to yourself." He sneered at her, taking a step toward her, forcing her to retreat.

"Repay you?" Her voice lost all its heat, coming out in a flat monotone. She dug the wad of cash from her pocket and dropped it at his feet. "What the hell did you think I was _trying _to do, asshole?" She dodged around him, managing to evade his grab for her arm and slammed the bathroom door, locking it behind her.

"Ace!" He hammered a fist on the door. "Open the fucking door, Ace!"

When the only answer he got was stony silence from the other side, Happy turned and walked out.

"Hey, Killah, where you going?" Kozik waved Tig off, and followed the Tacoma Killer out of the clubhouse and down the stairs. It was still raining, and starting to get dark out, but it was clear that Happy was bent on riding anyway. Kozik braced himself to get hit for the second time, and grabbed Happy by the shoulder, spinning him. "If I'm going to risk my ass riding in this shit, you gotta tell me what the hell we're doing, brother."

Hap rubbed a hand over his head roughly, pulse still pounding in his temples. Part of him wanted to turn right back around and kick down the door, but he knew his temper wouldn't allow him to be anything but brutal with her.

"I gotta burn a tank, or else I'm going to hurt someone."

"Ok, then let's ride." Kozik nodded to his brother, unnerved at seeing the club's most levelheaded assassin less than completely controlled.

**No Other Man Alive**

It had taken two tanks of gas for Happy to be ready to return to the clubhouse. Kozik had literally ridden through the storm with him for hours, even though he'd been up the whole night before and had to be exhausted. The relief on his face was clear when they dismounted, a little after one in the morning.

"Thanks, brother." Happy grunted, uncomfortable.

"You tight?" Kozik asked, studying him in the dim security lights.

"Yeah, I'm cool."

"You know Lorca was the one in the wrong, not her, right?"

"Yeah. Hey, Kozik?" Happy paused to light a cigarette. "I don't have a fucking clue what I'm doing."

Kozik laughed, and threw an arm around Happy's shoulders. "Dude, you're like 45, and this is pretty much your first girlfriend, and you _married her_, I think we all know you don't know what you're doing, it's what made you such an easy target for Lorca."

"Yeah, fuck you." Happy replied with no heat, because he couldn't deny that Kozik had nailed it.

They climbed the stairs in silence, and Kozik led the way across the dark clubhouse floor. He paused at the hallway, ready to head to his bed, but prepared to stay up if Happy needed him. Happy just shook his head, though, and pointed down to where Tig still stood, keeping vigil over Happy's door.

"Is she awake?" Happy asked him, irrationally worried that she wasn't actually there anymore.

"I don't know, man. It's been quiet for a while." Tig answered. Happy nodded.

"Was it loud before?" He smirked, thinking that Ace had probably worn herself out cursing him left and right.

"No, man." Tig was uncharacteristically solemn, "She only came out once to ask if I thought you were coming back. Other than that, I haven't heard her."

"Shit."

"Yeah." Tig agreed.

"Get some sleep, Tig. I appreciate you watching out." Happy felt like a royal asshole having kept both Tig and Kozik from their beds half the night because he'd been too stubborn to come back and deal with his old lady.

He pushed the door open, and the room was pitch black. He closed it quietly behind him and stood, trying to let his eyes adjust. Ace was sitting up in the middle of the bed, not asleep like he'd halfway hoped. She was wearing one of his reaper crew shirts, and looked even younger than she already was, arms wrapped around her knees. He'd intended to strip off his wet clothes, but found himself incapable of moving, and he just stared back at her.

"Tig said you'd come back." She sounded small to him.

"I always come back to you." He was surprised that this would ever be something she'd worry about. She didn't answer him, just shrugged, and continued to watch him. When the silence stretched on, Happy slid off his cut, laying it meticulously on the dresser. He toed off his boots, and pulled off his wet clothes, aware of her eyes still on him. He left it all in a heap on the floorboards, approaching the bed warily, pulling his rings off and leaving them on the nightstand. He lay back against the pillows and opened his arms to her.

"C'mere." It was immensely gratifying that she didn't hesitate, pushing herself right into his side. She kept her face down, though, and he hated that she was hiding her face from him. He ran his fingers through her hair, and tugged gently, trying to get her to look at him.

"What did you mean, you were trying to repay me?" He asked her when she met his gaze.

"I'm not an idiot, Hap. I know you paid off my debt, and I don't want to owe anyone over that." She sighed, and rolled further onto him, laying her chin on her crossed hands.

"You don't owe me shit for that, it wasn't your debt." Happy stroked her back, soothing himself as much as her with the long repetitive strokes. "And I'd have paid a lot more than that to have been able to take you from him after what he did."

Ace smiled a little when his arms tightened momentarily around her, basking in the security of his physical strength.

"You're such a Neanderthal."

"It made me insane seeing you touching another man." Happy admitted. "I'm a greedy fucking bastard."

"Hap, I was tattooing him, not giving him a handjob." She shot back, drily. "I have to ink, Hap."

"I know. I guess that's my fault, huh?" He grinned, masculinely proud that he'd been the one who had mapped her passion. "That shit out there was on Lorca. He should have come to me before approaching you, but he likes to push buttons, see what kind of reaction he can get."

"I'm sorry. You said I could keep tattooing, and you seemed so ok with everyone here, I just didn't think it was going to be an issue. I tried to tell you that I didn't know what I was doing." Ace was frustrated, and fed up with always feeling like she'd messed up.

"You're fine, Kozik pointed out that I'm the one who doesn't know what the fuck I'm doing. You've at least been married before, the only relationship I've ever had with a woman is the one I've got with my ma."

"Yeah," Ace snorted, "My marriage was such a great example of a normal, healthy relationship; I rated somewhere down below the entire Marine Corps, Texas Hold 'Em, and hookers."

"So we're both fucked." Happy shrugged. "I want to make one thing clear though." He rolled them over, and Ace laughed in surprise. "The only thing you _come _below is me."

**No Other Man Alive**

"Heard your old man caused quite the scene last night." Maryanne raised an eyebrow questioningly when Happy left Ace in the office the next afternoon.

"Yeah." Ace sighed. "I'm actually using your office as my hideout if that's ok?"

"It's fine, honey. Everyone knows Lorca was trying to provoke Happy, though, so you don't have to hide."

"Does it get easier to figure out?" Ace asked the other woman, dropping into one of the client chairs, next to Colton. "Being an old lady, I mean."

"You're doing fine, honey." Maryanne looked up and pushed her glasses up into her hair. "Happy's not exactly a simple man. The whole club respects you for taking him on at all, especially given the fact that you've known him for a while."

"A while? I've known him my entire life." Ace smiled at the blond boy who tracing her Puerto Rican quarter sleeve. "Hi there."

"Hi. You have tattoos like Happy does. He has more, though."

"He does have more." Ace agreed, surprised when the boy grabbed her book off her lap, flipping through the pages. "Uh, is that ok for him to be looking at Maryanne?"

"Colton's been brought up in the club," Maryanne laughed, "I'm sure he's seen much worse."

"Are these tattoos, too?" Colton asked, fascinated.

"Yep. I'm a tattoo artist." Ace told him, wincing a little at some of less-than-age-appropriate drawings he was studying.

"Like Happy." Colton pointed out.

"Happy's his favorite." Maryanne smiled, too, the little boy was obviously adored by his mother.

"Mine, too." Ace whispered to Colton conspiratorially, grinning when the boy put his hand up for a high five without looking at her.

"Can I have a tattoo, Mom?" Colton held the sketchbook up, showing his mom a sketch of a snake, not dissimilar to the one that resided on Happy's chest.

"When you're 18, you can have as many tattoos as you want." Maryanne answered wearily. Ace spied the Crayola markers that Colton had abandoned and held them up questioningly.

"Will these wash off of skin?" She asked Maryanne. "Do you mind?"

"Knock yourself out." Maryanne responded, shaking her head.

"Alright little man, it won't last as long as a real tattoo, but I can give you a pretend one if you can be really still." Ace told the kid, who was practically vibrating. "Where do you want your snake?"

"All around my arm, and then his head goes on my chest!" Colton was already stripping off his shirt, and Ace looked to Maryanne for approval, and was waved off.

"You're good with him." Maryanne observed, when Colton did a victory lap of the office with his awesome new ink. "You want kids?"

"Definitely not." Ace shook her head, still laughing at Colton's enthusiasm.

"Not ever? I didn't think I'd ever have a baby, but then I hooked up with Donut, and that all changed."

"No, not ever. I like other people's kids, but I'd be a terrible mother. And Happy really doesn't want to go back to a charter, so it wouldn't make sense anyway." Ace felt the woman weighing her answer.

"He has to retire sometime, honey, and you're still young." Maryanne cajoled.

"Seriously, Maryanne, me and my Planned Parenthood IUD are very happy together." Ace answered firmly.

"Such a shame. You two would make pretty babies." Maryanne smiled.

"Not gonna happen."

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy slung his arm around Ace's shoulders when he came to collect her a few hours later. She wrinkled her nose up at him.

"Don't you smell manly." Ace commented, then shrieked when Happy forced her nose first into his arm pit. "Gross, Hap."

"You asked for it." He laughed at her, then caught sight of Colton coloring underneath the chair. "Niiiice ink, small dude."

"Ace did it!" Colton strutted over to show off the snake that wrapped all around his skinny little arm and up over his shoulder to end, fangs bared dramatically, on the boy's chest. "She likes me."

"Oh, sure, I leave her here for you to watch her, and you're pushing up on my girl, little man. Not cool." Happy rubbed the kid's head affectionately. "Come on, baby, I gotta get changed before Church. You gonna come watch me whup Lorca later, Maryanne?"

"Not tonight, Happy. With the Red Nation in town and visiting tonight, Donut wants me to stay home with the kid."

Happy was surprised when they made it all the way to their room before Ace asked about the other club in town.

"It's a mostly Hispanic club that's here on business. Bowie's allowing a few of them to come to the party after Church as a good faith gesture." He told her, pulling on his jeans.

"Are you really not taking a shower?" Ace asked from where she lay on the bed, enjoying the show.

"No point. I'll take one after I throw Lorca a good beating." He grinned, jazzed for the night's festivities. He launched himself onto the bed, landing on his back next to Ace, and pulled her on top of him. "Once all that's finished, I'm going to get sloppy drunk and fuck my old lady."

"Oooh, lucky me." Ace fluttered her eyelashes in a decidedly sarcastic manner.

"You bet your sweet ass." He growled, grabbing a firm handful of the ass in question.

"What am I supposed to do if one of the other club's guys talks to me?" Ace looked a little nervous at the prospect, which amused Happy, since she was already surrounded by outlaws.

"You don't need to worry about it. They're not going to risk bothering an old lady when they're in someone else's house." He told her.

"So I just tell them that I've got an old man and they'll leave me alone?" She looked dubious.

"You won't need to. Your ink makes it pretty obvious who you belong to." It still made him hard whenever he thought about other men knowing instantly that his old lady was off limits. "You'll be with me most of the night, and Tigger will look out for you, too. You'll be fine."

Ace had just slid a hand down inside his jeans when a hard fist pounded on the door.

"Chapel, brother!"

Happy dumped Ace on the bed and made fast work of pulling on a shirt, his rings, and his cut. He was still stomping his boots on when he pulled the door closed behind him with a wink.

**No Other Man Alive**

"You broke my nose, douchebag!" Tig complained at Kozik loudly, head tilted back to try to stem the flow of blood. Ace balled up Tig's white undershirt and pressed it to Tig's nose. "Thanks, doll."

"Your right cross is weak, man, you give me the same opening every time." Kozik flopped down on Ace's other side. "I'm getting too old for this shit."

Ace was only half-listening to Tig and Kozik bickering across her. Her attention was riveted on Happy, climbing into the ring set up in the middle of the asphalt. He'd laid his cut across her lap and dropped his rings in her hand before he'd disappeared to get wrapped.

"You need to get looked at." Ace turned to see a rail thin Son studying her two enforcers; he nodded to her when she caught his gaze. "Donut. Come on you two, let me check you both out in the clubhouse where I can see."

"Donut's a paramedic." Kozik explained. "We'll come up after this," he nodded to the ring. "Happy's about to give Lorca a formal education in how to take an ass whupping."

"Yeah, and I'm babysitting." Tig patted Ace on the head condescendingly.

"You guys have your own paramedic?" Ace asked Kozik incredulously.

"Well we have to share him with the great city of Tacoma, but other than that, yeah. We get bloody. It helps when there's someone around to patch up the holes." Kozik shot her a confused look, like this should have already occurred to her.

"Indubitably."

The fight was brutal and bloody. Lorca was indeed a big bastard, and he used his weight and reach to his advantage, but it wasn't enough against Happy's cold rage. Once he wore Lorca down, Happy controlled the ring easily. He worked the bigger man deliberately, dragging the fight on longer. It was obvious to the screaming crowd that Happy was purposely targeting the tattoo, returning to it each time Lorca caught his breath.

Ace was aware of the many eyes on her. She didn't cheer with the crowd, or cringe and cover her eyes, she _watched. _This Happy was the same one she'd glimpsed at the range, all business, and holy hell it was hot. When one of the Tacoma brothers finally climbed in to stop the fight, Ace smiled smugly, pulling her hair over a shoulder, unconsciously exposing her tattoo.

"There, Happy's finished, can we do this now? Maryanne will have my balls for earrings if I don't get home soon." Donut pushed. Tig looked around at the crowd, scanning for possible trouble.

"You gonna be ok, dollface?" He asked Ace, who nodded, still watching Happy, who was hugging Lorca in the ring, their heads bent close.

"What did Tig hit you with?" Donut asked Kozik as the three moved off into the dark.

"Ha, that wasn't Tiggy, that was Ace. She launched a belt buckle at Happy and got me instead." She heard Kozik explain to Donut.

Ace hung back, staying on the picnic table, trusting that Happy would eventually manage to make his way to her. She liked watching all the Sons together, it was exactly the way she pictured a big family of boys would look like.

"That was your old man?" A deep, accented voice came from behind her, and a chill shot up Ace's back. She looked over her shoulder and recognized immediately that even though he wore a cut, this wasn't a Son. She glanced back toward the ring, but she'd lost Happy in the crowd.

"Yes." Ace answered, deciding that civility was her best bet.

"He's quite the fighter, isn't he?" The man lit a cigar, not coming any closer, but making no move to leave, either. Ace continued to scan the knot of men frantically, hoping to find Happy.

"Um, yes." Ace looked back to him, trying to push down the panic she was starting to feel.

"And that brand is still healing, so you must be a very new old lady, probably only a couple weeks. Isn't that right?" He continued, and this time when Ace looked for him, Happy was pushing through the edge of the crowd. His face was hard when he saw that she wasn't alone, and she hopped down from her perch on the table to meet him. Happy didn't pause, just took her by the hand, shoving her behind him.

"There a problem?" He asked coldly, but the other man just held his free hand up.

"Just congratulating the lady on her new ink. Very nice work, brother." His tone was unfailingly polite, and Ace felt Happy's grip tighten on her hand before he shook her loose.

"I ain't your brother. I think you're done here." Happy stepped all the way in front of her, so she didn't see the man nod his head respectfully and turn to go. All she saw before the darkness swallowed him up was the back of his cut and the flash of a cell phone screen.

"You ok?" Happy turned back to her, and she nodded back. Assured that she was fine, Happy picked her up, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"You did good, big man." Ace told him, wrapping her arms around his neck, still holding his cut in one hand and rested her forehead on his. Happy's skin was slick with sweat and hot against hers, and it was a relief when he plundered her mouth. She moaned when he set her down on the edge of the table, and he kept a firm hand on her lower back, forcing her to arch into him.

"Fuck." He pulled away from her, panting. "I'm not going to make it to the room. Come on."

He pulled her to her feet, and tugged on his cut, dragging her across the parking lot to Bowie's warehouse. There were a lot of knowing looks and laughter from the Sons that Happy ignored in his single-minded focus. When they reached the door to Maryanne's office, he stopped short and fumbled for his keys. Unlocked, he pushed her through and kicked it shut behind him. They both stood still for a moment in the quiet. Ace drank in the feral sight of him, his eyes were glittering dangerously in the dark, and his nostrils were flared, still breathing heavily. She kicked her boots off, backing toward the desk.

"Come and get me, big man." She goaded him, her hands going to the button on her jeans. Happy hit her like a linebacker, pushing her onto the desk, hands dragging her jeans roughly down her legs. He abandoned any effort to keep kissing her, desperate to get inside her. He spat into his hand, and coated his dick, knowing that he wasn't going to be able to gently work himself into her. It was crude and primal, and extremely hot, and Ace was blessedly wet around him when he drove into her. He supported her weight easily, wrapping an arm around her back. Ace fisted her hands in his cut, keeping herself close to him.

By the time they were done, Happy had climbed halfway on the desk in his attempt to get deeper inside her. He wrapped both arms around her, and let his forehead fall to the desktop, next to Ace's ear. Her hair was a mess, and he didn't think she'd noticed that the cut in his left eyebrow had bled on her. He felt her tremble slightly beneath him and he squeezed his eyes shut.

"You make me crazy, Ace." He told her quietly, but it felt like he'd meant something entirely different.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer-Do we really have to do this FIFTEEN chapters in? We do? OK then, Kurt Sutter is still the creator of Sons of Anarchy. But in the land of NOMA, I am Goddess. Please don't steal my characters, themes, or this exact story, because I promise you I'm a real person who worked hard to create them.**

Happy opened his right eye to find Ace studying him, head tilted to one side.

"Oh good, you're awake now. Can I please go get some ice for that? I've been watching it get worse by the hour." She was already out of bed and halfway across the room before he registered anything she said.

"Pants." He grunted at her, rolling to keep her in view, since his left eye was swollen shut. His lip cracked painfully when he rubbed a hand over his face. He groaned, and Ace appeared above him again. A painful glance reassured him that she had, in fact, put pants on.

"You look like shit, big man."

He lifted a hand long enough to flip her off. She laughed and kissed him very lightly on the mouth.

"I'll be right back with ice."

When the door shut behind her, Happy concentrated on getting himself upright before she got back. It took him a long minute to decide that getting up really was a decent plan. He could tell when he stood that Lorca had succeeded in cracking at least one rib, which was exactly what Lorca had promised him before they'd gotten in the ring. Happy didn't think it was cracked badly enough to keep him from fucking his old lady, which had been Lorca's stated intention.

"Fuck." He ground out, catching a glimpse of his face in the bathroom mirror. The one heavy shot Lorca had landed had completely split his eyebrow, leaving the lid so swollen that he couldn't begin to open the eye. His jaw was tender, but not bruised, although he didn't think he'd test his luck by shaving today. Moving downward, his shoulders were sore from the exertions, but nothing that worried him. His left side was black where his rib was cracked, and based on the bruise on his back, he'd likely be pissing blood for a day or two. After finding out that he was right, he opened the door to find Ace back on the bed, pantsless.

"Well if your goal was to completely destroy the work I did on him, you managed swimmingly." She looked like she wanted to be pissed, but ended up grinning at him.

"Yeah? Does he look bad?" Happy grinned crookedly back at her, trying not to split his lip further.

"Someone called Donut to come back and tape him up. You're actually next up, after we see what this ice can do." She scooted back far enough that he could lay his head in her lap.

With the ice on his face, Happy closed his other eye. Ace was stroking his jaw with light fingers, and the quiet room was peaceful in a way he hadn't ever expected to feel. He'd thought that all the noise only stopped when he was on the other end of her needle, but that strong, settled feeling he'd kept coming back to her for was somehow right there. Despite having gotten bloody mere hours before, Happy felt strong enough to go to war for her.

After an indeterminate time, Ace removed the ice pack, setting it aside. Happy blinked up at her, able to at least peel his left lid back a little. She leaned over him, smiling softly, her hair falling around them. Ace kissed him again, very softly.

"I'm proud of you." She murmured against his lips, and not giving a damn about his split lip, he picked his head up off of her lap so that he could kiss her harder. When that proved not to be enough for him, Happy flipped over, and crawled up Ace's body, pulling her legs around his waist. Ace brought both her hands to the back of his head, trying to bring him closer to her. He resisted, though, taking a long look at her, licking his lip hungrily before he let her pull him down. He kissed her thoroughly, loving the way her tight body squirmed underneath the weight of his.

"Did the swelling come down at all on that-Shit! Sorry!" Donut retreated, slamming the door shut. Happy pulled back to look at Ace, dumbfounded.

"You didn't lock the goddamn door?" He should have been angry by the oversight, but couldn't manage it with Ace working so hard to stifle her laughter.

"All I saw was Happy's ass, I swear!" Donut called through the door.

"Would you please put some fucking pants on?" Happy threw them at her, then grabbed his own jeans. He left the belt undone, so they hung low on his hips, which didn't make Ace want to put anything on at all. She managed to be virtuously dressed when Happy opened the door for his brother, though.

"Try knocking next time." Happy told Donut, pulling him for one of those handshake bro hugs that Ace didn't understand.

"Try locking your door."

Happy shot Ace a dirty look when she snorted, which made her laugh all over again.

"How's the eye?" Donut asked, steering Happy toward a chair.

"Not bad. How's Lorca's face?" Happy snickered, laying his head back so that Donut could get a better look.

"I think it's safe to say that you made your point." Donut pulled on gloves and set to work prodding the cut. "I'm taping this, too, but it'll still scar."

"Gonna ruin my good looks, doc?" Happy asked as Donut finished with the cut.

"On your feet, brother, let's get a look at that rib."

Happy stood with his left arm stretched behind his head, gritting his teeth every time he had to take a breath. Donut wasn't exactly gentle, either, he was getting pretty tired of patching up his brothers when they beat on each other.

"Come watch, baby. You're going to want to know how to do this." Happy ignored her raised eyebrow. He also ignored her making ridiculous faces at him while he was holding his breath to get his ribs taped. He nodded at her to grab his prepay off the nightstand when it rang.

"It says 'Jax'." She said, handing it over to him.

"Yeah." Happy answered gruffly, knowing where this was going and not liking it.

"Check out who went got hitched. Congrats, man."

Happy didn't answer, just nodded to Donut and shook his hand before closing the door behind him, locking it pointedly. Ace hugged Happy, propping her chin on his chest to watch his face. It was clear that he wasn't terribly interested in talking to this Jax.

"So here's the thing, man. Redwood is pretty light these days, we're down to seven at the table since Tig decided to take off. Now, I could call in some transfers, but you and Tig are both Redwood. We've got controlling interest in an ink shop, so you and your old lady could both earn straight, and we need the weight you and Tig pull on this Cartel deal."

Jax finally quit talking, and Happy still didn't respond, just ran his hand through his old lady's hair, wishing that his day could've just stalled in that moment before Donut had walked in on them.

"Come on, Happy, you know it's a good play. You can't be serious about taking an old lady on the road, it makes more sense to jump to a charter, safety in numbers."

"Charming ain't exactly been a safe haven for its old ladies, Jax." Happy pointed out, shaking his head at Ace's questioning look.

"It's been dead quiet lately. Think about it, a'ight?" Jax hung up before Happy could tell him what he thought of that idea.

"Fuck. I think I need a new phone." Happy tossed the prepay I the general direction of the nightstand, not really caring if he missed or not. He buried both his hands in Ace's hair, and backed her toward the bed, keeping her eyes on his.

"Are you sure you're up to this, big man?" Ace asked, climbing up and biting her lip while she looked him up and down, eager to get her hands on his skin. She slid out of her pants for the second time that morning.

"No." He admitted, easing himself back. "But I bet you can be real gentle with me." He smirked, cockily.

"Mmm, I think I could." Ace purred, straddling him carefully. Happy pulled his shirt off of her before picking up where they'd left off. Her hair was a physical barrier, insulating them from the rest of the world. She had both of her hands braced next to his head, which allowed him unfettered access to all her perfect skin. Happy let her lead, content for the moment with the leisurely pace.

"C'mon, Ace." He finally cut in, hands pushing her hips to where he wanted her. Ace smiled up at him, and then lined herself up. Her eyes closed as she slid onto his dick, and she hummed happily. He had expected her to come down on all fours again, but instead she leaned back, bracing one hand on his thigh. Happy groaned when her other hand went to work on herself.

"You like watching, don't you, big man?" Ace asked, voice husky. She kept her eyes on his as she rode his hard cock in a steady pace. He could feel her walls tensing around him, and he was utterly speechless, held in her thrall. Every line of her was perfection, and the gratitude caught him by surprise.

"C'mere, Ace." And he pulled her down on him, not caring if his rib exploded, so long as he could feel her weight. Unable to stand it any longer, he rolled her, ignoring the stab in his side. She wrapped her legs around his hips, heels digging into the backs of his thighs. His forearms framed her face, and when faced with the choice to stop kissing her or suffocate, he buried his face in her neck, breathing in the scent of her skin, and hearing her harsh panting right next to his ear.

"Hap…" She pleaded, and he felt his chest tightening. "Hap, I-"

He cut her off, lifting his head to kiss her again so that she couldn't finish whatever she'd been about to say. Ace came hard on a gasp, head thrown back into the messy sheets. Happy finished moments later, the orgasm equal parts relief and pain. He rested his weight on Ace, trying to concentrate on breathing shallowly.

"Hap?" Ace asked, voice weak, and Happy couldn't ignore her. He pushed himself back to his elbows, and held her face between his large hands.

"Shh." He ordered her, shaking his head. He rubbed a thumb across her cheekbone and then her lips. Her eyes were huge, and he could read everything she wanted to say in them.

"I _know_, baby." He murmured, and kissed her again. He slid back onto the bed, pulling her tight against him, arms locked around her.

**No Other Man Alive**

"Well, look who finally made it out of bed." Tig left his perch at the bar to intercept them when they finally made it out.

"Tig, your _face."_ Ace reached out a hand, but to Tig's obvious relief she stopped before actually touching the impressive mask of bruising.

"Don't hate me because I'm beautiful, sweetheart." Tig sneered back, which made Ace grin. "Here, Donut left some drugs for you. I tested them for safety."

"Good looking out, brother." Happy laughed, pocketing the baggie of pills. "Jax called."

"I told you he would. Did that shithead you've been dragging around for years with you patch into my charter?" Tig asked.

"Didn't ask." Happy shrugged it off, not concerned with where Shark ended up. "How long 'til you're good to ride?"

"How long until _you're _good to ride?" Ace snorted. "You've only got one working eye."

"Hap. Tell me you let her keep her tongue because she gives a better rim job than the trannys in Tijuana."

"Tig." Happy warned, narrowing his one good eye at Ace, too. Nonplussed, Ace slid back the few inches that would keep Happy from seeing her stick the offending tongue out at Tig.

"I've never been up to Quinn's place. How far is the ride?" Tig ignored her.

"It's about 500 miles, we could probably make it in 7 if we push." Happy looked questioningly at Ace as she pulled away.

"I don't really want to know how long it's going to take, and I'm tired, so I'm going to go sit while you two decide what you want to do." She answered, then headed for a tucked away corner.

Ace curled up in one of the large, studded club chairs, breathing in the smell of the leather. She watched the Tacoma Sons as they filtered in and out of the clubhouse. Many of them looked to be nursing hangovers from the bash the night before. They sat in groups, playing cards or watching baseball on one of the flat screens scattered around the room. A few were already at the bar, including Lorca, she noted as Happy approached him.

Ace pushed herself up to a slightly more dignified sitting position when she saw Bowie and Cat emerge from the dorm hallway. It amazed her that Cat managed to look completely polished, even when doing a walk of shame in last night's clothes. They stopped at the bar, too, joining Happy, Tig, and Lorca. Ace watched as Cat put a hand on Happy's face to get a better look at his eye, and she tried to figure out why it bothered her. It suited her just fine that Happy only tolerated the contact for a moment before pushing her hand away. Her temper riled again when Happy looked over to her before answering something Cat had asked him, Ace didn't exactly love knowing that she was being discussed across the clubhouse.

Ultimately, it was Lorca and Happy that ended up crossing the floor. Ace imagined that with appropriate theme music , they'd look like villains from a blockbuster.

"Hey, Lorca wants to talk to you." Happy pulled her up to stand in front of him, hands heavy on her shoulders. She gazed up at the large man who was grinning like a boy who'd been caught, but knew he wasn't in trouble. The easy rapport between the man behind her and the one in front of her was a staggering contrast to the way they'd brutalized each other the night before.

"Ace, I just wanted to apologize for putting you in a bad position. I knew you were an easy target, so it really wasn't fair of me to use you. In my defense, I really didn't know your old man was going to react that badly. Anyway, sorry." Lorca smiled at her, then turned his attention back to Happy. "We good, brother?"

"Yeah, we're cool." Happy released Ace to shake his brother's hand. She flopped back into the chair.

"She's exactly what you need, brother. I haven't seen you lose your shit like that, ever, it was completely worth the beatdown." Lorca hugged Happy a last time and returned to the bar.

"Where am I going to sit?" Happy complained, looking down to where Ace curled in on herself. She smiled at him, then sat all the way back in the chair, patting the space between her legs. "Perfect." He grunted and sat, pinning her against the back of the chair while she laughed.

"Hap!" Ace squealed breathlessly, not really protesting. The grin he shot her before relenting and sitting forward, arms slung easily around her knees, made her stomach flip delightfully. She slid her hands into the armholes of his cut, and up onto his bare shoulders, gently massaging. It didn't matter to her that he didn't seem to be paying attention, talking with his brothers and playing quarters across the coffee table. When her hands got tired, Ace wrapped her arms around his waist and rested a cheek against his colors, closing her eyes. The way he smelled like the road, and feeling the vibrations of his speech and laughter, it all made sense to her. She figured that good days, days like today, had to be the payoff for finding out that she'd wasted her entire adult life to this point.

"You better not've drooled on my cut." Happy rubbed her leg briskly, laughing when she rushed to check.

"What time is it?" Ace stretched, and assessed the clubhouse. There were more guys at the bar, and a few club girls, and old ladies.

"A little after 6. I told Bowie and Cat that we'd come out to their place for dinner around 7:30." Happy stood, holding his side while he stretched and rolled his shoulders. "I didn't know what girly shit you needed to do."

"My hero." Ace found her feet and batted her eyelashes at him.

**No Other Man Alive**

"You didn't tell me that we were having dinner with Martha Stewart." Ace hissed, pulling her leather on and taking the helmet Happy held out to her.

"Who's Martha?" He asked, confused, looking back at Bowie's house.

"Nevermind." She sighed, mounting up behind him. Happy waited while she settled herself, hands wrapped in his cut. When she stilled, he revved hard, nodding to Bowie, still standing on the generous front porch.

The ride from suburbia to the Tacoma clubhouse was reasonably short, but his mind was racing the whole way. Bowie had put a hard push on him to come back to Tacoma, and his points were all completely valid, making it hard for him to defend his reasons for sticking to the road. He knew that Bowie and his old lady had purposely orchestrated the entire night to show Ace all the best things about Charter life, hoping that having Ace on their side would change how he felt. He didn't know yet what Ace thought, but for him it had only underlined all the reasons he couldn't face it. The steady legit money and constant companionship simply couldn't compete with the freedom and quiet of the road.

Making a split second decision, Happy swung off course and pulled into a gas station not far from the warehouse. He was off the Harley before Ace knew what was happening. He pulled a SIG and handed it to her.

"You need to start carrying all the time. Stay here for a sec, shoot anyone who talks to you." He was already most of the way inside, pulling his wallet out by the chain.

Ace leaned back against the backrest, yawning. She wondered if this unscheduled pit stop in what certainly looked like the projects had anything to do with Bowie and Cat pressing Happy about patching back into Tacoma. She'd felt Happy growing more tense and distant the longer the pair had extolled the virtues of charter life. Ace could see why it could be a smart move, but any plan that made Happy stop talking, and keep his hands to himself didn't seem like such a great idea to her.

Wordlessly, she handed his weapon back when he came back. He nodded and filled his tank.

"Out of curiosity, why don't you just pay at the pump?" She finally asked him, watching as he pulled a cigarette out and stuck it behind his ear, presumably so he could smoke it as soon as they got wherever they were headed next.

"Nomads live almost entirely off the grid. Credit cards are an incredibly stupid way to get tracked down and killed."

Anything else she might have wanted to say was cut off by the growl of his engine. Rolling her neck to work out the kinks she'd acquired napping on Happy's back earlier, she wrapped her hands around him, careful not to mess with the taped up rib.

It was a relief that they'd simply gone straight back to the clubhouse. What made her nervous was that Happy didn't let her off to park, just backed it up a little further from the rest of the Harleys lined up. He hung his helmet on the handlebars, then lit his smoke. He slumped back against her, and Ace slid her arms around his shoulders, taking his weight without complaint.

"If you got anything you want to say, now's the time." Happy all but barked at her, smoking aggressively, cigarette pinched between his left thumb and forefinger.

"I like Tacoma." Ace said, and tightened her grip when he started to shrug her off. "But I'm not interested in staying. Let's go."

"Yeah? Bowie's right, it makes more sense for you. There're a million shops in Tacoma that you could ink in."

"Fuck what Bowie thinks. The only thing I want is to be with you. The rest is just noise."

Happy flicked the cigarette off into the darkness, and pulled her off the Harley with him. They stood face to face in the lot, and he held her face between his hands, watching her eyes. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, but she never looked away from him, just held his gaze calmly. He finally kissed her, feeling her hands slide under his shirt.

"Fuck. I'm glad I tracked down that rat when I did. Let's go sober Tig up, I want to leave by five."

"Wait…five a.m.?" Ace asked incredulously as Happy took off toward the clubhouse with determined strides.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	16. Chapter 16

Big

**Disclaimer-I don't own Sons of Anarchy. I do own my OCs, this story, and a 7 year old with staples in her head. Kids are awesome.**

Happy pulled another beer from the bucket of ice at his feet, dropping the cap back in. Quinn and Tig were both talking, but he wasn't really listening to them anymore. He was focused on his old lady, laying out down at the end of the dock, wearing far less than he was particularly comfortable with. They'd stopped in the little tourist town so that she could buy that black scrap of swimsuit, and every time a boat of frat boys slowed down to scope her, Happy regretted it more.

"Settle down, Happy. Nothing's going to happen to her, here. Drink your beer." Quinn laid a heavy hand on Happy's shoulder, physically holding him in his seat.

"Hmph." Happy grunted, but took a deep swallow anyway.

"Is she going to be up to the long run down to SAMTAZ?" Quinn asked, watching his best enforcer watching Ace.

"Yeah," Tig broke in, answering. "She's a real tough broad, Quinn."

"I'm not taking her to SAMTAZ." Happy shrugged off Quinn's hand as yet another boat slowed. He was out of his seat and walking down the dock in the next instant when the two guys in the boat had idled right up next to the dock. He'd stuck his smoke in the corner of his mouth, and the beer bottle in his hand was definitely more weapon than refreshment.

"He's so much more fun with her around." Tig remarked, standing to get a better view. The floor show was cut short though. Ace's head popped up as soon as Happy's boots hit the wood, she smiled radiantly at him, and pushed her sunglasses up into her hair.

"Come here, baby." He called to her, bracing his boot and staring down the little boys in the boat. Coming more fully awake, Ace looked over her shoulder and noticed the lurkers. She wasted no time in getting to her feet.

"Is that your dad?" One of them called after her, obviously ogling her ass.

"No." She answered curtly, and pulled all her hair over her shoulder to reveal all her ink. Then she wrapped herself around her old man and let him tongue fuck her mouth to make the point. Happy took a last drag on the smoke and flicked it deliberately toward the boat still idling.

"Get the fuck outta here." Happy growled, dismissing them, and threw Ace over his shoulder.

Still on the porch, Tig smiled approvingly when he saw Ace flip the retreating boat the bird.

"But is he going to be able to stay focused with her around?" Quinn asked Tig quietly, watching as Happy let her slide down enough to wrap her long legs around his waist, and delicately bit his ear. It was obvious that she was describing all kinds of dirty deed to the killer.

"Yeah, I think so." Tig sat back down and grabbed the bottle Happy handed him as he blew past the pair on the porch. "He's good."

Inside the cabin, Happy kicked shut the flimsy door of the guest room, growling when it bounced back open. And when Ace laughed, he spun her and pushed her back against it hard. Panting hard with her mouth open, Ace very purposely dropped her hand and turned the lock. Turning again, Happy dropped her on the bed unceremoniously. He watched her silently as she reached back to untie the flimsy strings holding her top on, rising to kneel with her thighs spread.

"Take off the bottoms, too." He ordered, pulling off his cut and opening his belt. "If I do it, I'm ripping the fucking thing off."

Ace didn't answer, just pulled the ties on both sides, eyes never leaving Happy. The days they'd spent here at Quinn's house on the lake had shown her yet another face of her old man. With only Tig and Quinn to look on, he'd kept her close enough to be considered affectionate. And his appetite for her had increased with the contact. Several times a day, Ace found herself being dragged off by Happy for sex. He'd fucked her standing up in the boat house, one hand across her mouth. In the shower from behind, her hair wrapped around his wrist. He'd even let her ride him in the chair, though his fingers had left faint bruises on her ass, where he'd gripped her. Aside from the presence of Tig and the bearded old Nomad, Quinn, it was exactly what she imagined a honeymoon would be like.

Deliciously naked, Happy took her by the hair. He bent and kissed her thoroughly before guiding her mouth to his achingly hard cock. It seemed to him that no matter how many times or ways he had her, his capacity to want her only expanded. He knew that he kept pushing her to try to find her limits, but so far she'd only met every demand he'd made of her with evident enthusiasm. Groaning, he tightened his grip on her hair, pulling her mouth off of him.

"Turn around." He went to his knees on the bed behind her, barely giving her time to steady herself before he entered her. He renewed his grip on her hair, drawing her upright, so that she reached back to wrap one arm around the back of his neck. Between the work she'd done with her mouth and the tight grip of her pussy, Happy didn't think he could withstand the pressure much longer.

"Get your hand on that pretty pussy," He growled in her ear and felt her get even wetter. "I want to feel you cum."

It took only seconds for her to orgasm, arching even further, trusting her weight to Happy's strong arm banding across her stomach and up her chest. He took the opportunity to drive into her even harder, throwing his head back when he came. Ace let her head fall back on his shoulder while they both breathed heavily, and Happy found himself kissing her temple and watching her cheek rise in a smile.

"What am I supposed to do with you, huh?" He asked her quietly, pulling out of her and collapsing on the small bed. He opened his arms to her automatically, letting her curl up to him.

"Oh you seem to continue to answer that one for yourself, big man." She laughed, and then quieted, caught by one of the sudden moments of immense tenderness that had been plaguing her.

"Put some clothes on, you monkeys!" Tig called through the door. "Quinn said it's your turn to grill, Hap."

**No Other Man Alive**

It was just started to get dark on the lake. Tig was asleep in the canoe tied to the dock, his handgun on his chest. Ace was sitting cross-legged on the dock itself, presumably sketching the slumbering Nomad.

"Jax called." Quinn drew Happy's attention back to business.

"I bet he did." Happy slumped lower in his chair and lit another cigarette.

"He wants you back at Redwood, brother. He asked me what it would take to make that happen."

"I love Jax and I love Redwood, but I can't ever get behind muling drugs."

"He's not going to just give up, Hap. Jax is a new animal since he took the gavel."

"No, Jax is a new animal because his old lady left him again. Charming is fucking cursed."

Ace had abandoned her sketchbook as the light faded, and Happy watched her, itching to go down to her.

"Is she staying with your mother when you go to SAMTAZ?" Quinn guessed, trying to keep Happy's attention.

"No. I don't want her that far. I'll set her up in Phoenix until the sitch in Tucson is handled. It's close enough that I can get to her and a big enough city that she'll be completely anonymous." Happy explained the plan he'd carefully considered for her.

"And why not just take her to Tucson? I know you won't be there the whole time, but she would be protected." Quinn cared less about where Happy was leaving his wife and more about the whys of it.

"SAMTAZ isn't even close to whole. She'll be safer in Phoenix." Happy's tone brooked no argument, clearly closing the subject as Ace started back toward them, Tig trailing behind her.

"Tig wants to sample the local talent." Ace laughed, dropping into the chair next to Happy. He dragged it closer, leaning over to bite her shoulder.

"Hanging around you two is giving me Smurf balls. Let's go rile up the locals!" Tig clapped his hands in gleeful anticipation.

"You coming, Quinn?" Happy asked, putting his cigarette out.

"No, you guys go ahead. Try not to start any trouble, I gotta live here."

**No Other Man Alive**

The local dive bar was packed with sun burnt tourists. Happy leaned with his back against the bar, Ace sat on a stool to his right. They were both riveted by the train wreck taking place down at the end of the bar, where Tig was laying down whatever passed for charm in his book.

"Does she even see it coming?" Ace asked, running a hand across Happy's stomach, hoping to provoke some sort of response, but he just shrugged, ignoring her wandering hand.

"Nah, young as she is, all she sees is the cut. Bitches like that all think that their magical pussies will tame the poor misdirected bad boy." Happy explained, turning his attention back to Ace, as Tig pulled his collegiate companion back toward the bathrooms.

"Yeah? What about this magical pussy, hmm, big man?" Ace hooked a boot around his leg and Happy finally let her pull him closer. He pressed her back into the bar, running his hands up her legs.

"Insatiable, huh?" He let her bite his bottom lip, but then pulled away. It made him uncomfortable having his back unprotected with so many people.

"Just with you." Ace let him push her off.

"Oh shit!" Happy saw Tig get blindsided by a right cross. "Don't move!"

Ace watched Happy wading into the fray, as more and more drunk assholes started throwing their fists around. It worried her that her two men were both still obviously sporting facial wounds from Tacoma, it made for easy targets. She lost sight of them, though, as the roiling knot of fighters moved closer. She scanned for any sign of a cut, and not able to find either one of them, Ace took off for the front door before she got overrun.

The parking lot outside was full of retreating patrons, and knots of people, mostly women, standing around bitching about the fight inside. Ace sidled to the back of the lot where Tig and Happy's Harleys were lined up with a couple of other, absurdly colorful motorcycles. She leaned a hip on Happy's seat, watching the flow of foot traffic on the little tourist Main St.

"Hey, aren't you with those two bikers?" Ace's head snapped to the right where two young and preppy twenty-somethings were approaching. She decided not to answer, just pushed off from her perch and started back toward the bar.

"Where ya going?" The one with the ridiculous diamond earring and white hat cut her off, and she could see his buddy behind her. Still not saying a word, Ace sidestepped him deliberately, but before she could get around him, his buddy grabbed her arm, spinning her.

"I bet you like it rough, don't you, slut?" He pulled her close, and his rank breath washed over her face.

"Clearly she's no stranger to two at a time, huh?"

Decided that the time for silence had definitely passed, Ace burst into motion, throwing her slight weight around trying to find any weakness. She screamed Happy's name once, as loud as she could before one of them got a hand over her mouth. She bit down until she tasted blood, but barely got a breath in before the hand was back in place.

"Jesus Christ, are you kidding me with this shit? The fucking pussy in this town is cursed!" Ace smiled when she heard Tig, renewing her struggle to get loose.

"Get your fucking hands off of her." Happy's voice was quiet, and accompanied by the distinct sound of a pistol round being chambered.

"Hey no problem, man." Ace stumbled as the pussy behind her shoved her toward Hap. "She was asking for it, though."

Happy pushed her behind him, and off balance, Ace sat down hard on the gravel. From there she could see Happy brutally pistol whip the man across the face. Less than a minute later the two had disappeared into the dark. Ace rolled onto all fours, trying to clear her mouth of the blood. She looked up when she felt Happy standing over her.

"Are you fucking stupid?" He spat, not offering a hand to help her up. She stared up at him, mouth hanging open in astonishment. "Answer me. Are you fucking stupid? Because I distinctly remember telling you not to motherfucking move."

"No, Happy, I'm not." Ace pulled herself up and spat the last of the blood on the gravel between their feet.

"You two can fuck and makeup later, we gotta leave before the cops get here." Tig called from where he had already mounted his bike. Happy clamped a hand on her shoulder, marching her roughly to the motorcycle. Ace shrugged her shoulder, not really trying to shake him off, just making the point. She stood with her arms crossed as Happy rocked his Harley up.

"Get on." He growled, handing her her helmet. She got on with a huff, and Happy took off without warning, forcing her to grab onto him.

**No Other Man Alive**

"I didn't stay there because my ass was about to get run over!" Ace shoved him, trying to get two inches of breathing room.

"Yeah? How'd that work out for you? Got real far from the fight, huh?" He didn't move a millimeter, and his hands flexed and fisted over and over at his sides, his adrenaline from seeing her at another man's mercy not even remotely close to being spent.

"Jesus, Happy, it's wasn't my fault I got jumped in the parking lot. And I wasn't fighting a whole lot because there were two of them, and I knew you'd be there any second, there wasn't much point to me getting the shit kicked outta me."

"You know what's real fucking handy in ending a threat that's bigger than you, Ace?" He growled, taking a SIG from his holster and slamming it into her hand. "A motherfucking gun. If you were carrying, like I fucking told you before we left Tacoma, this wouldn't have happened."

Without saying a word, and with very deliberate movements, Ace spread his cut, and replaced the SIG. She stuck a hand in the interior pocket, pulled out his smokes and a lighter, then spun on her heel and took off down the dock.

"Does she smoke?" Tig asked from the porch, where he'd been watching the festivities.

"Not that I knew of." Happy climbed the stairs and took the beer Tig held out to him. "Got a smoke?"

The pair laughed at the stupid hilarity of the moment, and sat in the worn porch chairs. Happy tipped his chair back to kill the light, so he could watch Ace more easily. She was pacing the end of the dock, and he could faintly hear that she was talking to herself.

"You gotta quit jumping on her like that, brother." Tig was the unlikely voice of reason in the dark. Happy didn't say anything, just dropped his empty in the cooler and grabbed a new bottle. Down at the dock, Ace had quit pacing and sat.

"Why's that?" Happy finally asked, relaxing back into the chair. He saw Ace look back to the house and wondered if she could see him.

"She trusts you, man, trusted you enough to walk away from her entire life and let you handle her business. You keep slamming her like that, and she ain't gonna trust you, and I don't think you're gonna like what that looks like."

"She drives me fucking insane." Happy answered, which made Tig laugh again.

"That's all bitches, Hap. It's when they get boring that shit goes South." Tig dumped his empty and stood up. "I'm going to bed, A.Z. is a long way away."

It was another half an hour before Hap felt confident that he could speak to Ace without pissing her off further. He kicked off his boots and left them on the porch, not wanting to alert her that he was coming. It was a wasted effort, though, it seemed that she knew the second he stepped onto the dock.

"Are you coming to throw me in?" She asked drily, not turning to look at him.

"Not a chance." He moved her boots off to the side and slid down behind her, dropping his feet into the water next to hers. She didn't push him away, but she kept herself stiffly upright, not leaning back into him. "I don't ever want another man to touch you, Ace. You're too valuable."

"Hmph." She snorted, and let him pull her back against his chest.

"You can't keep ignoring the shit I tell you, though. I can't do what I have to do if I'm worried about you."

"You worried about me, big man?" She finally relented, and rested her weight on him.

"I ain't exactly done much else since I picked you up." Happy grabbed the pack of cigarettes and lit one. He held it out for her, but she shook her head.

"Smoking will kill you."

"There are a lot of ways I could kick it, baby, smoking doesn't top the list."

"You can't just scream at me when you're pissed." Ace finally said, kicking the water idly."If you want me to carry all the time, I will, I just didn't think I needed to since you were there."

"I'm not gonna be there when we get to Arizona. SAMTAZ is completely fubared, so I'm dropping you in Phoenix while I go to work." He explained, rubbing her legs. Ace just nodded silently, but he could feel her breathing change. "We'll go see my ma first, but only overnight, I gotta get moving on this job."

"It's been forever since I've seen Delia." Ace smiled up at him, her voice wistful.

"The whole block is going to lose their shit over us." He laughed, stubbing the smoke.

"Us." Ace echoed, thoughtfully.

"Yes, crazy Ace, us. Now can we please go the fuck inside? I had plans for you before Tig got tangled up, and I'd really like to get back to that." The big Nomad was dangerously close to whining, and any final reservations Ace had evaporated.

"Yeah, let's get back to that." She agreed, turning her back to kiss him.

**No Other Man Alive**

"Hey." Tig intercepted Happy on the way out to pack his hard bags. "Just a heads up, Juice called. Somebody's been looking for you in Oak Town."

"Thanks. Someone's always looking for me in Oak Town."

"I don't know, man, that shit you pulled in Fallbrook, you gotta watch your six for blowback."

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer-I don't own the Sons of Anarchy, but I am the sole owner of my original characters, this story, and a mountain of laundry that needs to be folded. I'm gonna write instead.**

"Why aren't you eating?" Ace asked, grabbing a french fry off of Happy's plate and popping it in her mouth.

"Doing fine for both of us." He pushed the plate across the table, and sat back, putting a boot on the seat next to Ace. She looked at him sharply, studying his face.

"You didn't tell your mother about me, did you?" She accused, and threw a French fry at him.

"Haven't had time to call her." He admitted, and tossed the food back onto the plate.

"Big man, it's about a 2 minute conversation. 'Hey Ma, it's me.'" She mimicked his rough growl. "'Hooked up with Ashley in Fallbrook. Her husband's dead. We got married. Yup, love you, too. Bye.'"

"Nice." Happy rolled his eyes at her, and nudged her with his boot. "You want me to call my ma?"

"Sure. At least warn her I'm coming." Ace replied, calling his bluff. He grinned and pulled out his phone, and dialed the familiar number.

"Hey Ma. Yeah, yeah, I'm good. Listen Ma, I'm about 60 miles away, I'm gonna come and see you." He waited while Delia exclaimed over the news, and smiled mischievously at Ace and broke back into the conversation. "Yeah here's the thing, Ma, I got hitched a couple weeks back and I'm bringing her to see you."

"HECTOR ALONZO PEREZ-" Ace could hear Delia loud and clear across the table as Happy pulled the phone away from his ear, laughing. He hit end and put the phone down on the table, where it immediately started ringing.

"She's going to murder you." Ace stared at him in awe.

"I'm banking on you distracting her." He laughed, pulling her out of the diner booth. "Come on; let's go shock the shit out of my ma."

**No Other Man Alive**

The slow ride through the old neighborhood was very strange for Ace. She hadn't come back even once since her parents had died, and everything pretty much looked the same as it had over a decade before. Happy's arrival drew lots of attention, lots of people waved from porches and lawn chairs, and Ace knew that the gossip about who the woman on Happy's bitch seat was would reach a fever pitch before they even made it to Delia's. She wasn't sure if the revelation that it was her would calm the storm or make it worse. Turning her attention forward, she could see Delia standing on her own front porch, arms crossed.

"Shit, she looks pissed." Ace cringed.

Happy parked his Harley, careful to keep himself between his mother and his wife, not ready to give up the game. Ae was shaking her head at him, perfectly aware of what he was up to.

"Hector, you had _better_ start explaining yourself!" Delia was already coming down the porch stairs, leaning heavily on the rail. Ace was shocked at the difference 11 years had made, Delia looked almost frail, which was worlds away from the iron handed woman who had been more a parent to her than her own cokehead mom and dad. Happy met her at the bottom, deliberately cutting off her view again. Sighing, Ace pulled her helmet and leather off, letting Happy have his fun for the moment. It made her chest tight to watch him bend so carefully to hug his mother, even while she was still hissing at him in Spanish.

"You see, Ma, there was this girl I went to go see, and one thing led to another…" Happy turned his mother, an arm around her shoulder, to see Ace standing awkwardly a few feet away. Delia gasped and covered her mouth, then turned and socked her son right in the stomach.

"Ashley Duanes, let me get a look at you, child!" Delia held her arms out and Ace stepped into the embrace.

"Perez." Happy corrected quietly, but he wasn't noted, as Ace burst very dramatically into tears as soon as Delia hugged her.

Delia shot her son a sharp look over Ace's shoulder, and he nodded, silently promising a full explanation later.

"Shhh, it's alright, honey, you're home now. Let's get inside before the neighbors start gossiping." Delia murmured, turning back to the stairs. Ace sniffed, swiping under her eyes, trying to pull her shit together.

"I think it's too late for that, Miss Delia." She said wryly. "Most of the neighborhood came out when they heard Hap's Harley."

"You ok?" Happy asked her, brows low.

"I'm fine, big man." She waved him off. "Seriously, please ignore the eye juice."

"Eye juice? Really, Ace?" He pulled her in under his arm and kissed the top of her head. Ace shrugged, letting him pull her up the stairs and into the little house.

"Jesus, Hap, it all looks exactly the same." Ace whispered, looking around with a huge grin on her face.

**No Other Man Alive**

"And so you married her?" Delia asked, suspiciously. The she in question was curled up asleep, her head in Happy's lap. He was running his fingers through her hair to distract himself from his mother's inquisition.

"I, uh, figured you wouldn't appreciate it if I didn't." Happy risked a look at his mother, but her attention was still riveted on him. It was clear that she didn't trust the tidbits of the story he was feeding her.

"Don't you dare mess with her, Hector." Delia finally warned. "She's been through too much to take any shit from you."

"I'm not messing around with her, Ma." He tucked a strand of Ace's hair back behind her ear. "I've done a lot of stupid shit, Ma, but she ain't one of them."

"Isn't." His mother corrected him absentmindedly. "Well I'm relieved you didn't knock up a hooker somewhere at least."

Delia continued to watch her brave, ruthless, sometimes reckless son stroke his wife's hair while she slept. She wasn't under any illusions as to who her son was, and this tender side of the man she'd raised didn't surprise her, but she was relieved that she'd lived long enough to see it. The silly romantic in her had been disappointed that when Ashley's parents had died, she'd gone away with that boyfriend of hers, instead of sticking around so that her son could have gotten around to noticing her. It probably made more sense for them to be together now, though, they were both a little older and Hector wasn't as wild as he'd once been.

"She's still not sleeping right, is she?" Delia asked, getting up to retrieve an ashtray. She placed it on the arm of the couch where her son could reach it. He nodded his thanks, and lit up.

"No, it drives me batshit. Has she always been like this?" Happy complained, because she'd been up the night before, again.

"As long as I've known her. It gets worse when she's stressed." Delia said pointedly.

"I hear you, Ma. I'm gonna take care of her, I promise. Jeez, you remember that _I'm _actually your kid, right?" He teased her, chuffing Ace's shoulder to wake her up.

"You can take care of yourself, mi hijo."

"Yeah, I can. Ace, come on, baby girl, wake up. I'm too old to carry you upstairs." Happy waited while Ace came fully awake, and identified where she was.

"Crap, I fell asleep." She looked dismayed. "I wanted to stay up and visit."

Happy pulled her up, so she was straddling him. He rubbed the circles under her eyes with his thumbs, and then kissed her, drawing her bottom lip in between his. He was aware that his ma had paused on her ascent to watch them, but wasn't bothered by her witnessing them together. It certainly told her more than he ever could.

"You're not getting enough sleep." He told Ace, and kissed her again, liking slow pace they almost never found.

"I'm fine, Hap." She breathed against his mouth, and she slid her hand up his arm and twined them around his neck. "You know what I've been thinking about since you told me we were coming here?" She asked him, biting down gently on his lip before letting it go. He groaned, and waited until he heard his ma's door close.

"What's that?" He asked, running his hands up her ribcage to cup her breasts, pushing them up further.

"Fucking you in your bed here." She let her head fall back, granting him easy access to her chest. Happy accepted the invitation, licking his way across the tops of her full tits, only half listening, until her next, husky words stopped him short. "In high school, I used to sneak in your room and fantasize about what it would be like with you."

He slid a hand up to the back of her neck, forcing her to sit all the way up and look at him.

"Do you mean you…" Happy asked her, not sure he wanted to even ask the question, but helpless to resist her siren call.

"Lay on your bed and fingered myself while thinking about you?" She finished helpfully, biting her bottom lip, smiling a little sheepishly. Happy stared at her, mouth open, completely dumbfounded.

"You dirty little bitch." He finally marveled, leaning back and pulling her with him. He pushed her hips down hard, rubbing his cock against her. "That's incredibly fucking hot." He closed his eyes, picturing her there on his bed; hand buried in her greedy little pussy.

"Take me to bed, Hap." Ace smiled, secure in the knowledge that he wouldn't deny her. It was a safe bet, because Happy had just reached the conclusion that he couldn't, even if he wanted to.

**No Other Man Alive**

'I'm outside. Sorry.' Happy read, then put the sketchbook back down on Ace's pillow and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. A glance at the clock showed him what the thin light in the room already had, it was too fucking early. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up, probing the sore spot on his side from the fight with Lorca. It probably would heal faster if he didn't keep throwing his old lady around in the sack, but it seemed that there wasn't a damn thing he could do about that, so he'd live with the pain until he left her in Phoenix.

Pulling his jeans on, Happy left the room to go find his old lady. Coming down the narrow stairs, he could see her though the window, sitting on the porch. He lit a cigarette as he came through the door, and Ace smiled up at him. She had on an old pair of his basketball shorts, about half a shirt, and her hair was piled on top of her head in a messy knot. He surprised her by kissing her before dropping into the chair next to her. From there he could see that her Glock sat within reach of her right hand on the table.

"Good girl." His voice was painfully hoarse, and he accepted the mug of coffee that she passed to him. He noticed that it wasn't anything close to hot anymore. "How long have you been up?"

"I've been out here about an hour." She answered noncommittally.

"That's not exactly an answer, Ace." He pointed out, handing her the mug back.

"I used to come over here in the mornings because your mom always had coffee." Ace said, smiling. "My parents always ran out of everything before payday."

"Your parents were the next thing to useless from what I saw."

"It could have been a lot worse." Ace shrugged, and was surprised again when Happy laced his fingers through hers and brought the back of her hand to his mouth. "I wish we could stay longer."

"I guess you could, if you want. I know Ma would like the company." Happy frowned, not loving the idea of having her 600 miles away from him.

"No, I'd rather go to Arizona with you. I'm just being a baby about you heading out without me." She leaned over so she could put her head on his shoulder. They watched as the block began to quietly come alive, neither acknowledging the curious gazes. "Do you think they've figured out who I am, yet?"

"If they haven't, Ma will have it all over the block before we make it to the highway. She's a little excited." His voice was muffled from his face being buried in her hair, literally breathing her in. Ace tilted her face up to his, and he kissed her again before resting his head on hers, temple to temple. "I gotta get moving on this, baby. I have to get back to work."

"I know." Was all the reply she had for him before pulling away and standing. She wrinkled her nose as she looked down at him. "You look weird without your cut."

"Come on, it's a long ride to Phoenix, and I want to get you settled somewhere before dark."

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace dropped her bag on the bed of the exceptionally tiny motel room. Looking around, she decided that first thing after Happy left she'd find a place to work so she wouldn't have to stare at these walls for however long he'd be gone. Happy lounged against the open doorframe, smoking his second cigarette in the ten minutes they'd been there. He was tense to the point of hardness, and it was starting to make Ace nervous. She turned her back to him, trying to ignore the cool atmosphere, and wishing that their last minutes together could have been different.

When the door swung shut, she spun, afraid that he'd just left, but he had crossed the postage stamp of open floor in a stride right up to her. Ace stared up at him, confused, but he pulled her mouth roughly up to his, hand hard on the back on her neck. Reeling from his sudden attack, she felt his other hand tugging at her fly. Ace recovered quickly, she ripped open his belt, then stepped away to kick off her jeans when Happy succeeded in opening them. He didn't even bother taking his jeans all the way off, just pulled them down far enough to free his hard on.

He took her down to the bed hard, his left hand gripped the back of her knee, pinning it to shitty mattress. Unable to help himself, he entered her roughly, and only dimly heard her cry out. She was wet, though, and getting wetter by the second. They fucked aggressively, and Happy hoped that any man hanging around the motel heard her crying out his name when she came. He didn't let up on her, though, pushing her thighs even wider, his sac slapping against her ass. She met every thrust though, and hard as he tried to grit his teeth against the orgasm, knowing that this was borrowed time already, he came hard into her with a wordless yell. He collapsed on top of her, breathing hard, his arms rock hard around her.

"Are you ok?" Happy finally asked her, not lifting his face from the mess of her hair.

"I'm fine, big man." She whispered.

"I have to go." He still didn't move.

"I know." Ace sighed, then started to push him off of her. "Tig's going to be pissed that you're late."

Happy didn't answer, just got up and pulled his jeans back on. He watched as Ace did the same, noting that she kept her head high. He went to the bag that had spilled out on the floor, and pulled out the G39 that he'd snagged from Quinn's stockpile. He pressed it into her hand, holding her gaze.

"You shoot anyone who touches you, understand?" Ace nodded wordlessly. "Then you call me. If you can't get me, call Tig. And if you can't get either one of us, call Quinn, he'll know who is closest and send someone for you. You don't open the fucking door for anyone, not even if they're in a cut. Make them show you some ink, that can't be faked, and every Son out there has a reaper somewhere."

"I'll be fine, big man. _Go._" Ace's voice was small, but firm. Happy looked like he was going to say something else, but just shook his head once, then kissed her hard, both hands on her face. He looked at her for another long moment, then gently kissed her forehead, and turned abruptly, walking stiffly away.

Ace tucked the heavier Glock into the back of her waistband, and trailed after him, but only as far as the door. She leaned against the frame, watching her man making his final preparations to leave. The sound of his pipes when he turned the engine over was like a punch to the gut, but Ace wouldn't let it show on her face, in case he looked back to her. He didn't.

She stayed motionless while he disappeared from sight, and even after the echo of his Harley had faded. Ace watched the sun set, and the rowdier patrons of the motel began to come out. She didn't answer any of the greetings or catcalls, just continued to stare off in the direction of Tucson. Finally shaking herself out of her stupor, Ace turned back to her room and kicked the door closed behind her. She was careful to slide the bolt shut.

It took less than five minutes for her to put away her few belongings, all her stuff didn't even take up a whole drawer. She flipped idly through her sketchbook for a while, feeling the burn to work waking more with each page she flipped. Finally, she pulled her phone from her pocket, and set Siri to the task of finding tattoo shops within walking distance.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer-Are you all still here? Good. Let it be known that I don't own the Sons of Anarchy. I do own this story, my OCs, and a ton of anxiety over where this story is headed. Can't wait to share it with you.**

Happy sat back, letting Tig take the lead on the interrogation of the Lobo they'd spent almost four weeks tracking through Texas and into Mexico, and finally back across the border into Arizona.

"I think we got what we need, man." Tig was sweaty and blood spattered, and smiling angelically. Happy was relieved, he'd been itching to get back to Ace for weeks. He hadn't talked to her since he left, just a few check in texts from her to let him know that she was fine and working, and then he'd had to ditch his phone a few weeks back because he had a bad feeling that someone was watching him. She hadn't tried to text Tig, though, so he figured she was probably ok.

He stood to survey the fat Mexican swinging by his wrists. He slapped him hard across the face to bring him back around.

"You got anything else you want to say?" Happy asked him, and every hair on his body stood on end when the man began to laugh, high pitched with more than a touch of hysteria.

"You don't even know, _ese._" He grinned broadly, blood dripping down his face. "I know who you are, and your little bitch is going to pay for what you've done."

With a growl, Happy buried a knife in his neck, twisting it ruthlessly. He waited for a long moment, sucking breath in through his nose.

"Call her. Make sure she is fine and make sure she has her goddamn gun on her." He ordered Tig and started dowsing the room with gasoline.

"No problem, man. I'm sure she's fine." Tig stripped off his gloves and the plain black hoodie over his cut and dropped them in a puddle. He walked out, already pulling his phone from his pocket.

Happy clamped down on the panic in his gut, needing to focus on getting this job done right. Getting sloppy wouldn't pay off in anything but a prison jumpsuit. Pushing Ace from his mind, he finished the cleanup, lighting a cigarette, taking a couple drags and then tossing it behind him as he left, igniting the accelerant.

"Hey, I talked to Ace, she's fine. She said she's carrying and everything's quiet." Tig assured him as soon as he emerged.

"Fuck!" Happy yelled, kicking a metal dumpster, leaving a dent in the side. "Why the fuck do we have to go to Charming now?"

"Brother. No one's gonna care if you take off now. I'll go back to SAMTAZ, and let them know they're in the clear. We'll all meet you in Phoenix a couple hours after you get there, and head to Charming in the morning. Don't fucking sweat it, man, just go." Tig hugged him, then pushed him toward his Harley. "Go man."

Happy didn't hesitate a second longer, just peeled out, kicking clouds of dust in his wake.

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace packed her kit up, rolling her neck to work out the cramps from keeping it bent to her work for the last three hours. She'd been working in a dirty little shop in a Mexican neighborhood, rife with gang activity. Almost every piece she'd worked on in the last weeks had been colors or tags, but the handy thing about working somewhere that wasn't precisely on the up and up was that no one cared that she demanded to be paid in cash.

She pulled the strap of her hobo bag over her head, keeping it open. When she ducked out of the back and began her three mile hike back to her motel, it was with a locked and loaded G39 in her hand, only barely concealed by the bag. Tig's call before her shift had her on high alert, her eyes constantly scanning to make sure she didn't have any pursuers. It was the first time she'd heard from either of them in weeks, and it disappointed her that Happy had tasked his right hand man with the check in, even though Tig had told her that it was just because her old man needed to stay focused. She hadn't expected whatever he was doing to take so long, and Tig had cut off any inquiry she'd tried to make about when they might be done.

Ace turned, walking backwards for a few paces to make sure that no one was behind her before she turned into the lot her room faced. Satisfied that she was alone, she ducked around the corner and stopped short, heart pounding. There were over a dozen Harleys lined up in a tidy row, and Ace's mouth went dry as she searched for the distinct detailing of Happy's. Find it, she stepped forward out of the shadows, and spotted him, sitting in front of her open door in jeans and his cut, bare-chested, with Tig and four or five other Sons. Heart in her throat, Ace hit the safety on her Glock, and took off at a dead run across the pavement.

Happy spotted Ace the second she started running, and he pushed out of the chair, kicking it over in his haste. He took half a dozen paces toward her, then stopped and braced himself to absorb her weight, since she wasn't slowing at all. She flung herself into his arms, and he staggered against the impact, wrapping one arm around her back and burying his other hand in her hair, pulling her flush against him. Her arms were locked tightly around his neck and he could feel her sobbing soundlessly into his neck.

"Shh," He murmured into her ear, aware of all his brothers' eyes watching them. "You did good, baby, I'm proud of you."

Happy tugged on her hair, drawing her back far enough to look at her. They spent a long minute with their foreheads together, eyes locked, not speaking a word. When her breathing had slowed, he kissed her wet face, one cheek, then the other.

"I'm glad you're back, big man." She whispered in the moment before his mouth descended on hers. The taste of him in her mouth made her want to weep again, it was that profound of a relief. The heady moment was short lived though, because the sound of lots of heavy hands applauding and a few catcalls interrupted their intimate reunion. Happy broke away, letting her slide down him to her feet. She grinned brilliantly up at him while he adjusted his hard on to a less noticeable position.

"I've been cooling my heels for hours." He growled at her, taking her hand and all but dragging her toward the motel. "I just wanted to see you and make sure you were safe, and you weren't here. You drive me fucking insane with that shit, Ace."

"Sorry, Happy. I was at work." She hissed, as they were engulfed by Sons, slapping Happy on the back and greeting her, but it was such a crush of new faces that Ace didn't remember a single one. The one she did recognize was Tig's, where he still sat on an office chair pilfered from one of the motel rooms. He toasted her silently with the bottle of Jack in his hand, and she smiled back at him.

Happy shoved through the knot of his brothers, dragging Ace behind him. She was laughing, dwarfed by the men in cuts. Free of the men jokingly trying to impede their progress, Happy pushed Ace in front of him, headed straight for the open motel room door.

"Don't break her, man, we gotta ride in the morning!" Tig called right before Happy slammed the door and locked it.

Ace backed into the room, and placed her bag on the dresser, eyes glued to Happy, soaking in the sight of him. She toed her boots off, tracking him as he crossed to the bed. He picked up her phone and held it up significantly.

"We'll talk about this later." He promised, setting it on the night stand, next to his cut. His boots and jeans hit the floor moments later, and he sat on the edge of the bed, hand sliding casually up and down his shaft. Ace couldn't speak, just stared, transfixed. "If you want me to last more'n a minute, you gotta come take the edge off, baby."

Ace moved to him, standing between his knees. He let go of his cock, sliding his hands up her sides, taking her shirt with them. Still watching her face, Happy reached behind her and released the clasp on her bra and stripped it off of her. Finally breaking eye contact, he took in the eye level view of her tits and groaned. He put pressure on her hips, drawing her downward.

"Come on, baby, hit your knees." And Ace did, sliding her hands up his naked thighs. Happy leaned back on one hand, holding his erection in the other. He only let go when Ace's hot mouth engulfed his head, tongue working the sensitive tip of him. With Herculean effort, Happy resisted wrapping his hand in all that red hair. He knew that if he touched her, he'd be forcing himself into her mouth hard enough to choke her, and she had him close to cumming down her throat already. He tried to believe that it was the weeks of celibacy that he'd forced on himself, the longest he could remember going without pussy since he'd gotten out of prison, but really it was Ace, making him lose all control. He felt her hand slide down to cup his sac, and he was lost, orgasm barreling up his cock and into her mouth. Watching her swallow his cum kept him semi-hard as she released him from her mouth and sat back on her heels, smug little smile on her face.

Ace took a drink from the water bottle on the nightstand and silently waited for further instruction. She had no doubt that Happy knew exactly where he wanted this to go, and it was completely fine with her to let him lead.

"Take off your pants and lay down." He ordered, sitting back against the headboard and patting the mattress to his right, his left hand already trying to work life back into his dick. Naked, Ace crawled onto the bed to lay next to him, but he shook his head and spun two fingers.

"Other way." Cheeks burning, Ace complied, laying on her back with her head opposite from his, letting Happy spread her thighs, his hand stroking up and down the inside of her right leg.

"Yeah, that's right baby, let me see it all." It was incredibly hot being so exposed to his gaze, and Ace trembled, waiting for him to touch her.

"Happy…" Ace begged, but he shook his head, resisting her efforts to pull his hand to where she wanted it.

"Did you think about me while I was gone?" He demanded, still slowly stroking her thigh. Ace nodded, breathing hard, watching him, as he stared at her sex spread wide. "Did you put your hands on that pretty pussy and fuck yourself while you were thinking about me?"

"Oh fuck." She breathed, arching her back, desperate for him to touch her.

"That's not an answer." He told her, pulling his hand further up to her knee.

"Yeeeessss." She told him on a moan.

"Show me." He dared her, with a nasty smirk. Ace looked eyes with him, and brought both hands to her breasts, kneading them and rolling the nipples between her fingers. She trailed her right hand down her flat stomach to cup herself.

"That's right filthy girl." Happy kept talking, encouraging her further. She dipped two fingers in her juices, using them to rub up on either side of her clit. Frustrated, she slid the fingers back inside her, but Happy clamped down on her wrist, drawing her hand back to the top of her slit.

"That's not gonna work, I want to see you." He reached over her and stuck his middle and ring finger in her mouth, and she swirled her tongue around them obediently. He pushed them inside her slowly, and having him inside her, even just his fingers, made her cry out. She moved her hips restlessly, and he watched, fascinated, as she moved herself against his hand.

"Come on, Ace," He coaxed, sliding another finger into her, stretching her. "My dick is hard again, baby, but I'm not gonna fuck you until you make yourself cum."

Barely a second later, Ace came, back arching off the bed. Happy never took his eyes off of her, transfixed by the sight of her pussy clamped down around his fingers.

"You're fucking beautiful." He told her, withdrawing his hand as she relaxed back down. Crawling up her body, he slid into her without warning, and they both gasped. Happy braced a closed fist next to her head, and sucked the taste of her off of his fingers before pulling her mouth up to his. He was consumed by the feel of her beneath him and he wanted to devour her. His free hand roamed her body, sliding up her leg, hitched around his hip, cupping a breast, skimming up the column of her throat, thumb stroking lightly across her pulse there.

"No, don't close your eyes, baby, let me see you." He urged her, feeling her cum around him. "Yeeeah, that's right."

They moved slowly together, their earlier desperation satisfied. When he finally came again, it was equally as powerful as his first orgasm, but pleasantly lacked the violence. Happy held Ace to his chest, burying his face in her hair.

"Every time I'm inside you, I feel like I'm losing my fucking mind." He told her, and entwined his fingers with hers. Ace snorted, then yawned.

"The feeling is entirely mutual, big man. I missed you." She made a small disgruntled noise as he pulled out of her and got up. "I'm tired, Hap." She remarked, sounding surprised.

"Then go to sleep, crazy Ace. I got your back." He dressed while she burrowed under the covers, already mostly asleep. Satisfied that she was covered up, Happy slipped out of the room to join his brothers.

"I told you not to break her, man!" Tig peered around him through the open door and Happy slapped the back of his head before dropping into one of the pilfered chairs. Tig passed him the bottle of Jack after he'd lit a smoke.

"You doing alright, brother?" Happy finally asked. Neither looked at the other, both just watching the two Prospects standing watch over the line of Harleys.

"Yeah, Piney's been trying to drink himself into a grave for years, it's not exactly a surprise he finally managed it." Tig answered, and took the bottle back. "Fucking Charming, man. You haven't even been back since you had it out with Jax, have you?"

"Nope." They passed the bottle back and forth in silence for a while.

"Everyone else crash?" Happy finally broke the silence.

"Yeah. It's gonna be a long ass day tomorrow. You should go wake your old lady up for round two and then get some sleep."

"It'd be round three." Happy corrected, with a cocky grin.

"You greedy dog!" Tig approved, with a knuckle tap. "Go to bed asshole. I'm gonna stay up and hassle the Prospects for a while."

**No Other Man Alive**

"Wake up, Ace." Happy shook her hip lightly until she finally opened her eyes.

"You're dressed." Ace pouted, confused. "Why are you dressed?"

"Because we gotta go." He told her, returning to the task of packing up her things.

"Where are we going?" Ace asked, kicking back the comforter and stretching. She smiled when she caught Happy watching, frozen in the middle of shoving some socks into her bag. "You know, you can just come back to bed…"

"Mmm. No, we have to go to Charming." Ace came fully awake then, sitting all the way up. Her brows were low as she worked through the few things she knew about Charming.

"Why are we going to Charming? I thought you didn't like Charming." Ace took the bag from Happy's hands and dug for a pair of clean underwear.

"No, I love Charming. I just think bad shit happens there." Happy answered thoughtfully. "We're going for a funeral, one their members died."

"One of your friends?" Ace looked alarmed, pausing while she pulled on her jeans. She continued when Happy shook his head.

"Nah, just a brother. Liver disease. You have almost no stuff, why is it fucking everywhere?" Happy griped at her.

"Sorry, big man, I didn't know you were coming last night, or that we would be leaving this morning." Ace shrugged, and hurried to finish dressing so that she could help with packing. She ducked into the bathroom and brushed her teeth while she gathered her toiletries.

"Were you dealing drugs while I was gone?" Happy asked, appearing behind her in the dingy mirror, thumbing through the stack of cash that he must have found in the pocket of her leather.

"Nope." Ace paused, to spit and then rinse her mouth. "I was working in a Mexican neighborhood, turns out 'bangers like getting tatted by a pretty Puerto Rican girl. Stop glaring at me, Happy."

"You can't tell me shit like that if you want to keep working." He grumbled.

"Okay." Ace agreed, and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Hi."

Shaking his head at her, Happy gave in and kissed her. He wished like hell that he could've just spent the morning in bed with her, doing all the dirty shit that he'd been thinking about while on the road. He hated riding in big formations, hated that Ace's shit was everywhere, and hated that his hand was being forced and that he had to take her to Charming. He heard the sound of a handful of Harleys pulling into the motel parking lot and pulled away from Ace, pointedly ignoring her pout.

"Sounds like the boys from New Mexico made it." He told her. "Is all your stuff in your bag, or are you hiding shit somewhere else?"

"Quit fucking and get out here!" Tig called, banging on the door.

"As long as I have everything I need to tattoo and the money, anything else can be replaced." Ace slung her bag over her shoulder and tucked her helmet and leather under an arm, flinging the door open. "Hey, Tigger!" She pinched his cheek, then got a good look at the scene in the parking lot.

"Hey sweetheart." He kicked one of her boots across her other leg, causing her to trip and glare at him. He smiled angelically back. Happy slapped the back of his head as he passed, catching up to his old lady.

"That's a lot of leather." She whispered when Happy slung his arm around her shoulder.

"Piney was First 9, anyone that can be spared from every charter will be in Charming to pay their respects." Happy saw her confused look and explained. "First 9, a founding member of the club."

"Sounds crowded." Ace remarked dubiously. Happy just grunted in agreement, and took Ace's bag from her shoulder.

"Tell me that's her, Hap!" A sunworn man with incredible blue eyes whistled appreciatively, and came in for the requisite bro hug.

"Ace, this is Nova, he's another one of Quinn's Nomads." Happy introduced her with reluctance.

"Nova as in the S.H.I.E.L.D. character?" She asked, but Happy just shot her a what-the-fuck look.

"As in Casa. He can talk the panties off of a nun. Don't talk to him." Happy ordered her, and choosing to be amused, Ace just shrugged apologetically to Nova.

"I think I actually did that once." Nova grinned, unabashed, leaning against what she presumed was his Harley.

Ace surveyed the parking lot with interest as Happy packed her bag away. She returned the waves of a couple women, confused that they seemed to know who she was, and relieved that they didn't seem to be considering abducting her like Tacoma's old ladies had.

"Does everyone know who I am?" She finally asked, beginning to get uncomfortable with the attention.

"Pretty much." Nova answered, putting both hands up in surrender at Happy's glare. "Your Killah here has been pretty vocal about never taking an old lady, so inquiring minds want to know how you changed his mind."

"Should we be going now?" Ace asked uneasily, as engines began firing up all around them. Happy just shook his head and lit a smoke.

"Nomads will take the rear. We got time." He answered, and took her helmet so she could wriggle into her leather.

"Why do you get to wear a t-shirt, and I have to marinate?" She complained, zipping the jacket. Happy waited while she braided her hair, then placed the helmet on her head, holding her face under the chin with one hand.

"Because I don't give a shit if I lose half my skin laying my bike down. I do fucking care about yours." Having said his piece, Happy turned her loose and got on his Harley. "Come on."

Ace mounted up as soon as Happy braced for her. She smiled broadly, and wrapped herself tightly around him, grateful for the proximity.

"How far is Charming?" She asked, hoping that it was a longer ride, because she obviously wasn't going to have him to herself at the end of it.

"About 750 miles." He grinned over his shoulder, watching the dawning horror as she calculated the amount of time it would take.

**No Other Man Alive**

The sheer amount of motorcycles lined up in the Teller-Morrow parking lot would have been impressive if Ace could feel her butt. The upside to the numbness that had crept in around hour nine was that her tailbone didn't hurt anymore, but she was a bit panicked that she was going to fall over now that Happy was getting ready to walk his bike back into the line.

"Need a hand?" Shark had been working to help push the Harleys into a tight line in order to fit them all. Ace shifted uncomfortably because the truth was, she really did need help. Happy looked deliberately through him, though, and called across the lot to Kozik, unconcerned that he was holding the rest of his Nomads up. From the laughter, it didn't appear that they minded.

"Ace high! Come on." Kozik pulled her off the back of Happy's Harley, holding onto her arm to keep her steady. "Tough ride?"

"Thanks, Kozik. Yeah, it was a tiny bit long." She pulled her arm from his grasp as soon as she felt steady enough. She took off her helmet and unzipped her leather. "Holy shit I'm sweating like a pig."

She walked back to where Happy still sat on his Harley. He was smoking, but pulled her close, resting his head against her chest. She followed the line of his stare to see Tig, embraced between an older man with an impressive mustache, and a woman with heavily highlighted hair and some very serious bitch heels. It was uncomfortably intimate, and Ace looked back to the thoughtful expression on Happy's face and felt a frisson of unease shoot up her back.

"Is that Jax?" She guessed, rubbing her old man's back, hoping to relax him.

"No." He shook his head, as though to clear it, and finally dismounted. "That's Clay Morrow."

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer-No Other Man Alive is the sole property of moi. So are the OCs that appear and the plotlines. The Sons, sadly, do not belong to me. **

Ace was completely happy to be kept tucked under Happy's heavy arm for the night. For what Happy had assured her was a low key night, the crush of people was astounding, and also incredibly intimidating. Nova hasn't been joking when he'd told her that inquiring minds wanted to know, the flow of Sons wanting to meet her had been constant for the first hour, and she'd been grateful that Happy managed the attention without requiring much from her.

She leaned heavily into him, beginning to get sleepy from the glass of Jameson in her hand, and weary of sharing him. He was a clear favorite, and despite keeping her anchored to him, he hadn't had much time or attention to spare for her. She'd spent nearly a month apart from him, and wanted to hide him away for twice as long. Happy kissed the top of her head, and she couldn't help the stupid smile on her face.

"Doing alright?" He asked, mouth close to her ear, and she closed her eyes to enjoy the rush. She just hummed, and bit her lip when he grazed his teeth against her neck. "Let's go find a bed, baby."

Happy kept his arm around her neck, liking that she'd run her hand under the back of his shirt, clutching his belt to keep her balance. He'd been intent on collecting Tig, and taking off for the motel, but couldn't blow off Juice when he'd stopped them.

"Hey man, we heard you picked up an old lady. Way to go brother!" Ace smiled at the pretty mohawked Puerto Rican's unbridled enthusiasm, liking him immediately.

"Thanks, brother. Where's your old lady tonight?" Happy asked him, looking past him to the bar where Tig had a hand down some crow eater's shirt while he talked with Clay and Chibs.

"At home with the baby." Juice pulled out his phone and turned to Ace. "We have newborn, want to see him?"

"Of course!" She laughed, because Juice was going to show her the baby whether she wanted to see it or not. "Oooh, he's cute!" She ended up cooing, both at the baby and the proud daddy.

"Oh, and Jenna-that's my old lady-said that if you didn't have anything to wear for tomorrow that she could pick you up in the morning because she has to get something, too. Since the baby her rack got huge and nothing fits." Ace's eyes got big at all the word vomit that Juice had just unloaded on her, and she looked helplessly up at Happy, who just nodded.

"Um, sure, that would be good, I guess." Ace smiled, a little awkwardly.

"Hey, stay here with Juice, I'll be right back." Happy kissed her, ignoring the questioning look she gave him. He crossed to where Tig was still fondling the bored looking blonde. "We're taking off, brother, you coming?"

Tig looked up at him a little blearily, and shook his head.

"Nah, man, I think I'm gonna crash here tonight." Tig answered, squeezing one of the blonde's breasts for emphasis.

"We'll take care'a him." Chibs promised, then pointed across the clubhouse to Ace. "Now _that _is a fine looking woman you got. Heard it took you a while, though."

"Where's Bobby? I haven't seen him all night." Happy ignored Chibs' jab, watching Ace still talking to Juice, looking at more baby pictures.

"Stockton. He got picked up on one'a his Tahoe runs, some bullshit from '92. Rosen's trying to get him clear." Chibs explained, then got distracted when Ace downed the last of her drink. "Is she drinkin' whiskey?"

"Jameson." Happy grinned, knowing the Scotsman's drink of choice.

"I'm so proud of you, brother." Chibs hugged him, and patted his cheek. Still laughing, Happy took a last look at Tig, and headed back to Ace, who was handing her glass off to a passing Prospect.

"Let's go." He said, grabbing her hand, and nodding goodbye to Juice.

"Tig's not coming?" She asked, checking behind them to make sure she hadn't missed him.

"Nah, he's too wasted to ride, he'll stay here."

"Juice is cute." She commented as she pulled her leather on. Happy shot her a dirty look and she grinned. "Not like that. Like a little degenerate puppy."

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy came slowly to consciousness on his side, and was aware first of Ace's ass parked firmly against his raging morning wood. He'd apparently kept her close even in sleep, his arm was tight around her waist, and his hand was cupped around one of her perfect tits. Unable to resist, he shifted his hips against her, and groaned. He kneaded the breast in his hand, and kissed the sensitive skin where her shoulder met her neck. As she began to stir, he slid one leg between hers, opening her up further for him.

"Wake up." He croaked, and bit her shoulder, pushing his hard cock against her ass again. When her hand came up to rest on his hip, he reluctantly abandoned his grip on her breast to slide his hand between her legs. She made a sleepy sound of approval and he teased her until she began to move against his hand, which did all kinds of great things to his erection, still pressed against her.

"Yeah?" He asked, dipping a finger inside her and finding her already soaked for him. He worked himself into her slowly, burying his face in her shoulder. It was quiet, the only sound in the room were Ace's quiet gasps, and his groans as they moved together. He loved his club and was willing to do whatever it asked of him, but he hoped that it wouldn't ask him to be away from her for so long again.

Afterward, they lay together, still quiet. Happy gathered her hair up on the pillow, and kissed her back where his name was branded on her skin.

"Tell me you're mine." He demanded, lips still against her skin.

"I'm all yours, big man."

**No Other Man Alive**

Jax had come knocking only minutes after Ace had left with Jenna, Juice's pretty little gamer wife. The idea of Juice with an old lady at all made him scratch his head, and the fact that he'd managed to meet her on the internet made him feel even older.

Jax and Happy sat at the tiny table in the room, smoking, and eyeing each other warily. Happy knew that Jax didn't do anything by accident, so this visit away from the Redwood clubhouse had to be a calculated move.

"Listen, brother," Jax finally began and Happy slumped in his seat, trying to read the mother charter's motives, "Everything was all fucked up when you took off back to the Nomads, but everything is different now, and we need you and Tig back at the table."

"I can't come back here, Jax." He shook his head to cut off Jax's pursuit of the subject. "I Prospected the Sons instead of other clubs because we don't fuck around with the drug trade. Now that's all changed, and I'll do anything for my club, but I can't ever get behind you on this, and that kinda rift will rip apart a charter."

"So you don't deal with the Cartel stuff. We got three legitimate businesses that you and your old lady can earn at, and you only deal with the gun side." Jax bargained.

"I ain't gonna sit at a table and expect my brothers to cover for me, shit don't work like that and you know it."

"A'ight. Will you and Tig at least stick around for a while after everyone takes off. Our Cartel friends are tracking down the witness that ratted on Bobby Elvis, and you're the best we got to send after him, get him clear of this. You can leave your old lady here, we'll put her up in an apartment by Juice, she can work at the shop, and we'll keep a patch on her at all times." Jax coaxed.

"Get me the location, then we'll talk."

**No Other Man Alive**

"Look alright?" Ace asked nervously, smoothing down the black halter dress that Jenna had assured her was more than appropriate for a SAMCRO funeral. She had her hair pulled up, leaving her tattoo fully exposed.

"More than alright." Happy frowned at her. He hadn't seen her in anything other than jeans since before he'd gotten locked up the first time, and she sure as hell hadn't had legs like that back then. She pushed his hands out of the way and buttoned the black dress shirt Kozik had dropped off while she'd been gone. With her heels on, Ace was only a few inches shorter than he was and when he kissed her, it felt foreign.

"You good, big man?" She asked when she was done, wrapping her arms around him.

"Yeah, let's go outside and wait for Juice and Jenna before I dirty you up again."

**No Other Man Alive**

"I'm so jealous of all your gorgeous hair, you look perfect!" Jenna complained to Ace, as they hiked through the cemetery from where Jenna had parked her little Civic, behind the seemingly endless rows of Harleys.

"You look cute." Ace assured her. "Although, I'm a little pissed at you for these heels, I didn't realize that we'd be running a marathon."

"Cute. Ugh." Jenna wrinkled her little ski slope nose. "I'm so tired of being cute. Why can't I be hot or smokin' or sexy?"

"Your boobs are gigantic, I think it's safe to say that you're pretty smokin'." Ace laughed, bumping this easy new friend with her hip.

"They are pretty awesome." Jenna grinned back, patting her cleavage fondly.

Ace scanned the crowd, trying to locate Happy. She stopped dead when she caught sight of the uniformed honor guard at the gravesite.

"Ace? Are you alright? You're white as a sheet." Jenna asked, concerned, and she started looking for Happy, too. The hard man intimidated her, but he obviously cared about his old lady, and Ace didn't look very well.

"Um, I'm a tiny bit lightheaded, it must be the heat." Ace waved her off. "You go ahead, I'm going to hang in the shade for a minute, I'll catch up."

"Are you sure? I can go find Happy for you if you want." Jenna looked dubious.

"No, don't be silly, you don't need to bother him. I'll be there in a minute." Ace pushed Jenna back into the stream of foot traffic. As soon as Jenna turned away, Ace turned and walked briskly away, interested in being anywhere that wasn't this funeral.

She found a mausoleum that near the other side of the cemetery that faced away from Piney's funeral, and Ace put her back to it, panting.

"You are _not _having a panic attack." She ordered herself sternly, and pressed a hand to her chest, where her heart was hammering. "Oh fuck, I totally am."

She slid down the wall, doing her best to tuck her legs underneath her. The wild thought that if anyone wandered by, she'd vastly prefer that they were distracted by her lace panties and failed to notice her nervous breakdown. She pressed the heels of her hands to her temples and gave up the battle against the tears, letting them tracking hotly down her face, praying that she could get her shit together before anyone came looking for her.

**No Other Man Alive**

"Where's Ace?" Juice hissed as Jenna slid in next to him.

"She said the heat was getting to her and she'd come in a minute, but she really didn't look alright." Jenna told her old man worriedly. "Should we tell her old man?"

"I'll do it." Juice pushed his way up to where Happy stood smoking with Tig and Clay. He pulled Happy close to tell him privately what the situation looked like. Happy immediately flicked his cigarette away and started off in the direction Juice had indicated Jenna had parked, hoping Ace was just by the car.

"Hey. We're getting ready to start here, your old lady can wait!" Clay yelled after him, but Happy ignored him. He didn't see Shark peel off of the group and head off parallel to the group.

When the trip out to the car didn't produce any sign of Ace, Happy started getting concerned. He set off along the cemetery's winding road, scanning each side for any hint of where she'd taken off to. Minutes later he was circling toward the older part of the cemetery, where the large monuments and mausoleums were. He spotted Shark hovering near one, right as Shark spotted him.

"She's over here!" Shark waved to him to hurry up and Happy broke into a lope, cutting through the gravestones, heart pounding. He skidded to a stop when he got his first look at Ace, curled into herself. Enraged, he shoved Shark hard in the chest with both hands.

"What the fuck?" He growled, and Shark backed up, chin in the air, hands held up in surrender.

"I didn't fucking touch her, she's fine." Shark replied through clenched teeth.

"She doesn't look fine to me." Happy turned his back on Shark, going to his knees in front of Ace.

"Her old man was a Marine." Shark reasoned from behind him. "He would have had a military burial."

"Hey, baby, I need you to look at me." Happy coaxed, rubbing her arm. She didn't pick her head up but she did answer him, and he breathed a little easier.

"Jesus, this is embarrassing. Go away." She begged him, hiccupping a little. He slid an arm behind her back and one under her knees and lifted her enough to set her sideways on his lap. It was good that Shark wasn't there when he turned around.

"Not gonna happen, baby, I'm here." Happy told her, running a knuckle lightly up her spine, and tracing the letters on her back. "Is this about your old man?"

"I thought you were my old man." She finally said, leaning her head into his shoulder, letting him get a decent look at her face. "I'm not crying over him."

"So why are we sitting here, then?" He asked, smiling at her old man comment.

"It just caught me off guard. That day? Worst day of my entire life. I buried my whole family, and then found out that my entire life was a lie." She finally made eye contact, and he brushed her face with his thumb.

"I'm sorry, baby. But you got a huge family, now. And I don't fucking lie to you." He kissed her, and leaned his head back against the marble, holding her together when the rifle crack of the 21 gun salute rang out. It surprised him when after a long moment she spoke again.

"Yeah, I think I like this better, no lies." There was an off note in her voice that felt a little like a slap in the face.

"We better get back. Jenna was worried."

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace had managed to escape the raging party spilling out of the clubhouse, letting herself into the tiny playground across the lot. She sat on the swing, a highball of Jameson in her hand, with the rest of the bottle on the ground off to the side. Happy had gotten pulled away by Clay over an hour ago and she hadn't seen him since. The noise from the crowd had added a headache to her post panic hangover.

"You hiding?" Ace's head snapped up to find Ms. Bitch Heels watching her with her arms folded.

"Uh, sort of. Headache. You are…?" Ace asked warily, as she came into the playground and closed the gate behind her. She wondered if this was girl talk or a cage match. If there was even a difference between the two.

"Gemma Teller-Morrrow." She replied with a raised eyebrow and lit a cigarette. "Mind if I smoke?"

"Of course not. Thanks for the amazing jacket, by the way." Ace offered, downing the last of her whiskey, and then put the glass down. Filling it up again seemed imprudent with the queen mother hanging around.

"The club needs him, you know. He's always been rock solid dependable until you." Gemma commented casually.

"I didn't realize my presence had been any kind of hindrance to his work for the club." Ace tried to match Gemma's casual tone.

"Not yet." Gemma admitted. "But the knight in shining armor act? Way outta character."

By the time Ace thought to point out that she'd known Happy for a lot longer than Gemma had, the woman had taken her bitch heels back to the party.

"Well she certainly knows a good parting shot." Ace muttered to herself, no longer resisting the temptation to refill her glass.

"Hey Ace high, you hiding?" Kozik peered through the fence at her. "Chibs had been looking for that, you know."

Ace toasted him sardonically, and he laughed.

"Yes, I'm hiding. Crowds aren't really my thing." She shrugged.

"You did fine in Tacoma." Kozik pointed out.

"Do you know where Happy is?" She asked him, suddenly exhausted.

"You alright?" Kozik looked at her sharply, concerned.

"I'm fine, just tired." She smiled, not wanting Kozik worried. "Happy?"

"Last time I saw him he was getting his balls seriously busted." Kozik told her, holding the gate for her.

"About?" Ace asked him, eyeing the crowd with trepidation, then squared her shoulders and lifted her chin.

"Being pussy whipped, what else?" Kozik snorted. Ace shot him a weird look. "What?"

"I really don't understand why everyone thinks I have some magical power over him. Happy doesn't do anything he doesn't want to do, and it wouldn't matter if I said differently. It's one of the biggest things I love about him." This time Kozik was the one with the weird face.

"There's your boy." He finally pointed Happy out, sitting on a picnic table next to one of the fire barrels, facing the other way. Ace tried to shake her mood off while she was pushing through the crowd. She'd mostly succeeded when she got shoved hard, nearly falling until someone grabbed her arm, steadying her.

"Thanks-" She broke off when she saw Shark at her elbow. She yanked her arm out of his grasp, backing up a pace. "Don't touch me."

"Hey, I just wanted to see if you were ok, you kinda freaked out earlier."

"I'm not your concern." Ace took off, trying to head off the train wreck, since someone had alerted Happy to her approach. "Hey big man, I've been looking for you."

"What did he want?" Happy asked, and when her heels prevented him from tucking her under his arm, he awkwardly wrapped an arm around her waist.

"He ran into me. Just asked if I was ok." Ace said, rubbing his back, trying to get him to look at her instead of staring down Shark.

"Not his concern." He looked down at her finally, and kissed her roughly. "Come wrap those legs around me, you've been driving me crazy with them all day long."

He lifted her easily, and laughing, Ace complied. She raised an eyebrow when he slid a hand up her skirt, but he was still looking past her at Shark.

"You could just pee on me if you think that would get the message across faster." She sighed, and was glad when he returned his attention to her, dirty grin on his face.

"I'm not really into that, but we could try it if you are."

"Gross." She slapped his arm playfully, and he laid her out on the picnic table. It was suddenly hard for her to breath.

"Let's go." He breathed in her ear, and she broke out in gooseflesh. Predictably, Happy noticed and smirked, proud of himself. He pulled her back up and set her on her heels. They weaved through the crowd, Happy paving the way with Ace trailing behind, clutching his hand. She saw him purposely knock his shoulder into Shark without slowing down. When they reached the row of Harleys, Happy grabbed her roughly pulling her into him, molesting her mouth.

"Get on." He growled, handing her his helmet. "Keep your ankles away from the pipes."

**No Other Man Alive**

They never made it to the bed. He'd ripped the scrap of lace panties from her and fucked her against the door. Happy tried to catch his breath, his forehead against hers.

"Let me ink you." He finally told her. "I fucking hate thinking of any other man touching you."

"No one is going to touch me." Ace told him, running her hand over his head.

"Not an answer." He pointed out.

"Go for it, big man." She kissed him.

"Yeah?" Happy looked at her, surprised that she'd just given in. "You're not even going to ask what I'm doing?"

"Nope."

"God I love that you let me do whatever I want to you." He let her down, and ran his hands up her, taking her dress off. "Lay down. Can I use your kit, mine's out with the bike."

"Go for it." She lay back, watching him as he gathered what he needed.

"Ready?" He asked, straddling her legs. He measured the distance from one hipbone to the other a last time, and kissed the skin there once.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer-I don't own the Sons, but I do own my OCs, No Other Man Alive, and all of my OCs. I also own a very lonely Harley.**

_**Warning-This chapter contains dark and violent themes, particularly against women. This is not representative of the author's views, just part of the building story. Please discontinue reading NOW if you are not of an appropriate age to read this fic. If you are uncomfortable with this story's nature, I will be happy to inform you via PM when if it safe to resume reading.**_

Ace kicked back in the tattoo chair, eating the salad her old man had brought over from the local deli. Happy was currently feeding his beast in her swivel chair, flipping through her book.

"If you get sauce all over that, I might kill you." She said, glaring at him playfully.

"You've been getting a lot of work here." Happy just commented, closing the book.

"It's fairly steady. How are things over at T-M?"

"Hot and stupid." He complained, shoving the last bite of his sub into his mouth.

"So come work over here, Jax isn't going to tell you no." Ace pointed out, and cleared away the lunch things. She stood in between his legs and leaned down to whisper in his ear. "Just think, we could be together all the time, sneak off when it's quiet…"

"And if you want to keep doing what you do, it's safer for everyone if I stay away. I'd murder every single guy who came in here eyefucking you." He pushed her shirt up to survey his handiwork from the week before. "How's it healing? No irritation?"

"It's fine. If I've been bending over for a long time it gets a little sore from rubbing on my jeans, but not terrible. I think you've made your point with it." Ace quirked an eyebrow, and smiled when Happy just grinned, unperturbed.

"I'd say so, coming or going, anyone will know you're locked down." He said, tracing the script. "No Other Man Alive. Kinda makes me hard every time I see it."

You're a possessive bastard, Happy." She laughed, and let him pull her down onto his lap. He clamped a hand over the juncture of her thighs, pressing down on her with the heel of his hand.

"You're goddamn right. How long until your next appointment?"

"Uh, right now." Jenna peered around the edge of the cubicle, cheeks burning. "Sorry."

"You're fine, Jenna." Ace apologized, and pushed Happy's arm off of her so she could stand up.

"I gotta get back anyway. Chibs been treating you two alright?" Happy asked, kissing the top of Ace's head.

"Oh, aye, we're getting on grandly." Ace mimicked the Scot's brogue uncannily.

"Don't do that, it's fucking creepy."

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy leaned against the paneled wall of Redwood's chapel. Jax sat at the head of the incredible table, smoking nervously. Tig had returned to the seat Jax had given him when he'd assumed the Presidency, mostly out of habit.

"You can sit down, man." Jax coaxed, unnerved that Happy wouldn't sit as equals.

"I'm good here." Happy didn't move, and Jax drummed his fingers on the table before sitting straight up and flipping open the file in front of him.

"Alright. Romeo gave us the location and identity of the witness." He paused, looking from Tig to Happy and back again.

"What? What's the issue?" Tig asked.

"It's one of Bobby's ex-wives." He flipped the file around, sliding it down for Tig to view.

"This feels like history repeating itself." Happy commented, a little heavy on the sarcasm.

"I know. But it's different from this seat. Listen, this deal we got with the Cartel is protected. But in order to keep it going, I can't have RICO calling. I need this witness gone."

"I can do it." Happy shrugged. His commitment to the club had always been absolute, and he had no compunction killing anyone who endangered it.

"Alright good-" Jax started to get to his feet.

"I want Chibs." Happy broke in, pushing off from the wall. "Watching Ace for me."

"Man, we got Prospects for that. Or she can stay here at the clubhouse."

"No. Chibs. You know there have been threats against her, I'm not leaving her safety to some Prospect."

"Let me get this straight." Jax sat back in the chair, steepling his fingers. "You went all vigilante on some punk, didn't clean up your mess, and that means I take a full patch off of my charter's business to babysit your old lady?"

"Oh don't get all self-righteous now, Prez. You'd do the same thing. If you want me to go back and clean up my mess, I'll wipe out the entire gang. But if you want me to go clean up _your _mess, then you'll put Chibs on her." Happy stood his ground, even though he was beginning to recognize how completely he'd fucked the situation in Fallbrook.

"Only at night. She works in one of our businesses, a patch will be there anyway, and Chibs can babysit her overnight. Unless you want him to move in with her? Yeah I didn't think so." Jax stood to leave, and paused at the door. "You explain this to Chibs, I don't want any part of it."

Tig waited until Jax was gone before he spoke, both palms flat on the table.

"Why don't you just take Chibs with you, and I'll stay here with your old lady. We'll figure out how to handle this shit when you get back." He offered, though obviously reluctant.

"Ain't how it works, brother. Chibs'll be fine with her." Happy said firmly, trying to convince himself as much as Tig.

"A'ight. Looks like this is just a few hours away. Let's roll now and get a handle on what the situation looks like, see if there's a weak spot." Tig suggested, flipping through the file at all the information. "On the outside we'll be back in a few days."

"Nah, we'll head out in the morning. I need the time." Happy shook his head, trying to predict how Ace was going to react to being left in Chibs' care.

"Listen, brother, I know you're worried about her with what that fat Mexican said, I get it, I really do, but the guys are starting to worry about your priorities." Tig warned, pushing back from the table.

"It ain't like that. My priorities are straight. We leave in the morning." Happy insisted, and Tig just nodded, and backed out of the Chapel.

**No Other Man Alive**

"Hey, Ace, do you have a minute?" Jenna popped around the corner of the divider. Ace looked up from her book, and slid her chair back to make room.

"Yeah of course, what's up?" She asked, concerned because Jenna had an odd look on her face.

"It's probably nothing, but some girl came by last night after you left. She said she was a friend of yours."

"Uh, Jenna, I hate to break this to you, but I'm pretty sure you're my only friend. Are you sure it wasn't some croweater just wanting to kick my ass for nailing down Hap?" The two girls laughed, since that was an all too real possibility.

"Maybe, she definitely looked the type. God, they were terrible after Juice and I got together, I swear not one of them really looked at him until he had an old lady and then it was like open season on the Puerto Rican."

The bell over the door sounded and Jenna leaned back far enough to see who it was. She grinned and winked at Ace, and headed back to the front counter.

"Hey, Happy!" She chirped on the way, giving Ace the heads up.

"Hey baby." He kissed her and then sprawled out in her chair. Ace looked at him sharply as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Hey. What's going on? You look pissed." She abandoned any pretense of trying to do any work, and crawled up to straddle him.

"Nah,I just gotta take off in the morning. Can you leave now?" He asked, running his hands over her ass, and squeezing.

"Mmmm," She leaned in and nipped his lip. "I think we could manage that. Just let me check in with Jenna."

"I'll meet you out front." Happy put her off of him and set her on her feet, and headed out, already putting his sunglasses on. Ace packed up her book and finished tidying her work space, reflecting that being able to leave her kit in one place instead of hauling it around was a pleasant novelty, even if it wasn't going to last.

"Headed out?" Jenna asked, peering up at Ace over her reading glasses.

"Yeah, if that's ok with you? Shouldn't you be going, too?" Ace asked, checking the time.

"I'll leave in a little bit. I have to work on the CaraCara books." Jenna rolled her eyes. "Never thought I'd be using my fancy accounting degree to keep books for a mini porn empire."

"Life takes us to weird places, huh?" Ace reached over the counter and squeezed her friend's hand. "See you tomorrow."

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy stroked Ace's naked skin with one hand, smoking a post coital cigarette with the other. She tucked her face into his neck, and he knew that she was hiding her face.

"Why you hiding from me?" He finally asked, even though he knew it was because she didn't want him to see her upset over him leaving. She gave in, though, and rolled her head back onto his shoulder so that he could read her face.

"Is this going to be like last time? You were only supposed to be gone a couple weeks and it ended up being almost a month. It's fine if you are, I just want to know."

"Nah, baby, it's a short run. Nothing like the last one. Tig and I should be back in a few days." He assured her, rubbing the pad of his thumb across her cheek. "Then we'll see what Quinn's got for me and get outta this fucking place."

"Ok. It's a little bit like living in an episode of _Alfred Hitchcock Presents _here, isn't it? The 50s happened and everything stopped."

"Yeah. Listen, Chibs is going to be hanging around, making sure you're safe. Don't give him a hard time, ok?" He knew she was suspicious when she rolled back onto her stomach and looked at him straight on.

"Why do I need someone watching out for me? Did something happen?" She asked, a deep furrow between her brows.

"No, just to be safe. It's all good, Ace." He lied to her, and was relieved when she nodded and yawned, letting it go. "Get some sleep."

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy left the next morning with much less fanfare than his previous departure. Ace accepted her Glock when he pressed it into her hand, and it felt ritualistic. She leaned against the doorframe and watched him go, not even fazed when he didn't look back. She started to close the door when she heard pipes, and opened it up again to see Chibs pulling into her little parking lot.

"Heard you're my babysitter for the duration." She said when he cut his engine and pulled his helmet off.

"Oh, aye." Chibs pointed to the gun still in her hand. "Rough morning?"

**No Other Man Alive**

It took Tig and Happy three days to find the opening they needed. It was just after dark and Tig was able to take out the rookie tasked to watch the house easily. Happy felt like he could think for the first time since he'd taken the job. The noise in his head was deafening, and he wasn't used to second guessing himself. He kept returning to that night in Fallbrook, and every time he ran the scenario, it made more sense to kill the fucker. It was a tie whether he was more pissed at himself for being so goddamn arrogant and giving a two bit gangbanger a roadmap to fuck up his life, or at Kozik for having a fucking baby conscience.

Happy finished his count and headed for the back door. He expected to have to run down Bobby's ex-wife, but was shocked when she was sitting at the kitchen table with a bottle of gin. She didn't even look surprised when he and Tig converged on her.

"I've been waiting for you." She said, and tossed the last of her drink down neatly. She turned her chair to face them and took a deep breath, letting it out on a sigh. Happy looked at Tig, then stepped up and placed the barrel of his SIG to her forehead.

"You got anything else you want to say?" He asked, his throat tight. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, smiling peacefully, and for the first time in his career as an assassin he felt a chill shoot up his spine.

"Tell Bobby that I didn't mean to hurt him." She said, and closed her eyes again. Happy found himself completely frozen, caught up between the bone deep loyalty to his club and the sudden image of Ace sitting in front of some guy like him. He swallowed hard and blinked. Before he could recover his equilibrium, Tig stepped up and fired once into her temple. Happy put his piece away, then turned and walked out without even meeting Tig's eyes.

Happy smoked aggressively walking the 8 blocks to where they'd stashed their Harleys. He felt Tig following him, but couldn't make himself slow down and face his right hand man.

"Fuck!" Happy finally yelled and punched a chain link fence, but found it completely unsatisfying. "I have to go back to Fallbrook. I'm losing my fucking mind."

"Hey." Tig grabbed his face. "Let's get back to Charming and check in with Quinn. You wanna go to Fallbrook, we'll fucking go. I'll even call the great blonde douchebag to come along and we'll clean house on those bastards."

"Yeah. Yeah. You're right, man." Happy rubbed the scruff on his face, and mounted up. "Let's fucking ride, brother."

**No Other Man Alive**

It was 2:00 in the morning, and Ace sat up in bed, frustrated because she knew that if she didn't fall asleep in the next five minutes, she may as well just fucking give up for the night. She was exhausted, but her mind hadn't stopped racing since Happy had left. He'd been running so hot and cold in Charming, and she was glad they'd be leaving soon. Being in Charming felt a lot like falling into the Twilight Zone.

Ace gave up on sleeping and got up, stretching. All her muscles were sore from the sleepless nights, and she made a mental note to ask Jenna if Juice might know how she could get her hands on some sleeping pills. She knew Happy would be pissed if he caught her in this condition. She went to the bathroom and began brushing her teeth, but the whine of the draw fan was making her head hurt, so she turned the light off. In the sudden silence and dark, the hair on the back of Ace's neck stood up, and she dove blindly for the nightstand, and her gun.

"Looking for this?" Happy asked, and his voice in the dark made all of Ace's muscles turn to jelly. He put her piece back on the nightstand and crooked his finger.

"You scared the shit out of me, Hap." Ace sighed, pressing one hand to her chest, trying to contain her racing heart.

"Ace." Happy looked at her pointedly, and Ace got to her feet and went to him, running her hands up his arms.

"Everything go smoothly?" She asked, studying his face.

"Yeah, everything is fine." Happy rubbed his thumbs across her cheeks, noting the dark circles. "You ain't been sleeping."

"I'll be fine, big man." She kissed his left hand, noting the broken skin on his knuckles, but not asking. She knew he'd only tell her what he wanted her to know, whether she asked or not. Glad as she was to see him, it was clear that something wasn't right.

"Come here." Happy lifted her off of her feet and tumbled her back onto the bed, coming down on her hard. His hands were rough, pushing up the sports bra she wore to bed, and groping her breasts. Ace was torn between responding to him, her body halfway there, and the ugly feeling that something was very wrong.

"Hap…" She tried to get him to refocus on her, but he was dragging her tiny shorts down her legs with one hand and opening his belt with the other.

"You gonna tell me no, Ace?" He growled, pausing, and his eyes were intense in the dark room.

"No, I just-" But Happy cut her off, kissing her so hard that she tasted blood.

"Good girl." He said, and finished the job of pulling her shorts off. He rubbed his fingers up her pussy, finding her wet, but not as soaked as he was used to. He pushed into her anyway, feeling her gasp against his mouth. He held the back of her neck, forcing her to trust her weight to him. She moaned, and started to really move against him.

"I need-" She begged against his lips, and he snaked his hand between them, right to where she needed it. He came right after she did, biting down on her shoulder harder than he'd meant to. The room was very quiet as he tried to hold her, not able to say any of the shit in his head. He almost laughed when his prepay started ringing, because he knew that no good could come of that. He kissed her forehead and tucked himself back into his jeans and answered his phone.

"Yeah?" He answered, and wasn't surprised when Jax demanded his presence in the Chapel and hung up without waiting for a response. He tossed the prepay across the room, wishing he could shatter the thing, but not willing to answer for that, too.

"You have to go, don't you?" Ace asked, pulling the sheet up over her breasts.

"Yeah. I gotta go back to the clubhouse."

"Do you want me to come with?" Ace asked hopefully.

"Nah, stay put. Get some fucking sleep."

**No Other Man Alive**

"Your old lady keeps getting in the fucking way of this club's business!" Jax raged at him, pacing the width of the Chapel. This time Happy did sit, pulling up one of the extra chairs, still refusing to sit at Redwood's table for anything.

"The job got done. My old lady has nothing to do with it." Happy was working hard to keep his shit in check, knowing that if he blew up at the mother charter's president now it would only solidify Jax's suspicions.

"Bullshit, brother. You're so blinded by pussy you can't see straight. Let me tell you from experience, man, getting that hung up on one bitch is a fucking mistake." Jax paused at the door. "Get your goddamn head on straight."

Too pissed to even consider going back to Ace now, Happy walked behind the bar and pulled down a bottle of Jack. He didn't bother with a glass, just drank right from the neck.

"Listen, man, I'm sorry. I didn't know Clay was going to go to Jax with this or I wouldn't have said anything." Tig parked himself at Happy's right hand, willing to wait out the killer's storm.

Happy smoked and drank hard, and instead of numbing him out, the booze only made him angrier. It was a slap in the ass that at every turn his club was questioning the one thing he'd done for himself ever in his history with the Sons. He replayed the night in Fallbrook obsessively, watching Ace sucking him in with every single tentative touch and her big, goddamn trusting eyes. He thought that maybe fucking her had been a mistake, but knew that he wouldn't be able to go back now.

Happy looked up to see Chibs shoving a croweater out into the hallway. She was tall and blonde and absolutely nothing like Ace. He was off of his barstool and in front of her before he knew what he was doing.

"You done with her?" He asked, one hand wrapping around the slut's bicep.

"All yours, brother." Chibs gave him a strange look, but Happy didn't even notice it.

"You looking for some fun, big guy?" The girl asked him, fluttering her fake eyelashes at him.

"Shut up, bitch. There's only one thing I want your mouth for." Happy didn't even bother with finding an empty room, just leaned back against the hallway wall, not even concealed by shadows. He pushed the girl to her knees and pulled out his dick. She took him into her mouth willingly, and tried to look up at him, but he let his head fall back, trying hard not to think of how hot it was when Ace locked eyes with him, her mouth full of his cock.

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace looked blearily around the room, trying to figure out what woke her up, when the phone rang again. She fumbled on the nightstand, but then realized that it wasn't her phone. A jolt of alarm had her out of bed, crawling across the floor trying to follow the ringtone to wherever Happy had tossed the prepay.

"Hello?" She answered breathlessly, afraid she might have missed the call.

"Yes, hello, may I please speak with a Mr. Hector Perez?" A chirpy female voice inquired and Ace was immediately wary.

"He isn't available right now, may I ask what this is concerning?" Ace replied, starting to get worried.

"I'm calling from Bakersfield Memorial Hospital. Are you a member of the Perez family?" Ace's heart dropped to the pit of her stomach.

"Yes, I'm Ashley Perez, Hector's wife." She choked out, already turning on the light and hunting for her jeans.

"Mrs. Perez, I'm so sorry to inform you…"

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace jogged the half mile or so to Teller-Morrow, hand tucked into her bag, gripping her Glock. The parking lot was deserted, so she cut across to the clubhouse door, pushing it open abruptly. All conversation stopped when she entered, and it felt like every single Son was looking at her. She was relieved when Tig moved away from the bar toward her.

"Hey Tig, do you know where-" Ace stopped, her mind racing to makes sense of _her _man standing in the hallway beyond, his dick in a croweater's mouth. She dodged around Tig, realizing that he'd been trying to head her off so that she wouldn't notice Happy. Tig tried to grab her, only managing to get a handful of her shirt, but it prevented her from crossing the rest of the way.

"I hope you like the taste of my pussy, you stupid slut!" She yelled, and pulled her shirt from Tig's grasp, headed back to the door. She could hear the scramble behind her, and couldn't bring herself to care. Her only goal was to get the hell out of there before she embarrassed herself by crying. She only made it three steps into the lot before Happy caught up to her, catching her hand and spinning her to a stop.

"I told you to stay put." He shouted at her, and Ace just stared at him in complete disbelief that after she'd caught him with his dick out, he was yelling at her in front of all his brothers, who had followed the two of them out.

"You're a fucking bastard, Hector Perez." She growled back at him, her voice dripping with disdain. She'd been about to turn and walk back to the motel when the backhand caught her across the left cheek, sending her stumbling. The taste of copper in her mouth nearly had her gagging.

"Shit, Ace, I didn't-" Happy started toward her, but Ace drew herself up and held her hand up to hold him off. She spat the blood from her mouth onto his boots and launched his prepay right at his chest.

"While you were here getting your dick sucked, Bakersfield Memorial called. Your mom had a heart attack."

Ace turned her back on him, mentally screaming at herself to keep walking and not to fucking cry. This time when Happy grabbed her, she pulled the G39 and pressed it right into his sternum.

"Don't you fucking touch me."

"Or what?" He asked calmly, putting both hands up in surrender, but taking a step closer. "You gonna shoot me, Ace?"

It was a tense moment, both of them glaring at each other, not moving. Finally Ace pulled her gun away, backing away slowly.

"Just leave me alone, Hap." She begged, her voice cracking, desperate to get away. Happy didn't answer her, just headed in the direction of his Harley. She saw Tig start to come after her, but Clay snagged him by the back of his cut.

"That fucking gash just pulled a piece on your brother, you fucking better be watching his back and not hers. Let Happy decide what he wants done with her when he gets back."

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace was a fucking mess by the time she got back to the motel. She couldn't catch her breath and could barely see through the tears streaming down her face. No amount of mental berating slowed the flow one iota.

"Ace, you ok?" She went to pull her gun, but her hand was shaking too hard to get it out of her bag. She gave up when she identified the voice as Shark's.

"Shit. I'm fine." Ace fumbled the keycard, dropping it on the concrete. She swiped a forearm across her face and accepted the keycard when Shark held it out to her. "You need to get out of here. He'll kill us both if he finds you here. Or maybe he won't give a shit, I don't know.

"Hey. I'm not trying to make shit worse for you. Let me get you some ice for that, and then I'll take off, ok?"

Ace stared at him a long moment, trying to judge his motives. Finally she nodded, and let herself into her room without another word. She flipped the security bolt, keeping the door propped open and dropped her bag on the dresser on the way to the bathroom.

Ace studied herself in the dingy mirror, trying to figure out exactly where everything had gone to shit. The only conclusion she could arrive at was that it had happened sometime around when she had been born. Shaking her head at herself, she probed the swelling on her cheekbone and the beginnings of a fat lip. She turned the cold water on full blast and splashed her face repeatedly, trying to erase as much evidence of the night's events as possible. Gasping, she stood back up and groped blindly for the towel, and wiped the water from her eyes. She barely had time to register the face behind hers in the mirror before her forehead slammed into the cheap mirror, shattering it.

Reeling, she managed a lucky elbow to her assailant's gut, and got out of the bathroom. She tripped and went down hard, but still tried to lunge for her bag.

"_Shark!" _She screamed desperately in the moment before Carlos Rivera, half brother to the head of the Bastardos got an arm around her neck, cutting off her breath. He pulled her to her feet, and she felt the muzzle of a gun against her back. Shark came barreling through the door and tackled Carlos to the ground, taking her with them.

"Run, Ace!" He grunted, and Ace tried to get to her feet, balance dangerously absent from her head wound. She looked back over her shoulder just in time to see Carlos get his gun up to Shark's temple, pulling the trigger. Screaming incoherently now, Ace burst toward the door. She didn't even see the pistol whip coming, just felt her left cheekbone explode in pain before she blacked out entirely.

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy and Tig ripped down the I-5 at speeds approaching triple digits. Happy considered turning back around to retrieve his old lady, but kept landing on the way she'd looked at him, holding him at gunpoint. He figured it was better to give them both plenty of time and opportunity to cool down before trying to find out where she wanted to go from here. He wanted to believe that he could be man enough to let her go if she asked him to, but knew that he'd likely fail at that, too. Right now, about all he could be sure of doing was getting to his ma. Ace would be there when he got back.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer-I don't own the Sons of Anarchy. I do own this story, its relevant plotlines, and my OCs, including Shark (RIP). I also own some beat up hands from kickboxing on the bag, but I'm still here typing away. **

_**Warning-This chapter contains graphic and disturbing scenes including rape and violence. If you are not 18+, or these are triggers for you, please discontinue reading. Adult readers can feel free to PM for the all clear and a summary.**_

Ace came awake slowly, but the memories of the night before were disturbingly clear. She kept her eyes closed and tried to think through the excruciating pain in her face and head to inventory her current state. She was aware that she was naked, and her hands were zip-tied behind her. Her feet and ankles seemed alright, but as she mentally moved up her legs, her anxiety rose. Her thighs were sore, and sticky, and she tried desperately not to think the word. Rape. Fuck, too late. Her stomach roiled, and she pushed away all thoughts about what had likely been done to her and what it meant for her and Happy. Oh shit, Happy. She forced herself to return to the task. Stomach seemed ok, she was nauseous, but nothing she couldn't handle. Her wrists hurt from the zip-ties, and her shoulders were sore from being wrenched back. Probing her lip with her tongue, she found it swollen and split, but that was Happy's fault. She tried to grit her teeth against the flash of rage, but her face hurt too badly and she had to force herself to relax. Finally, she tried to open her eyes and the pain was so blindingly severe that she found herself retching, which made the pain even more excruciating.

"Oh fuck." She moaned, and this time she only tried to open her right eye, barely squinting in case her gag reflex kicked back in for a second round.

"Good, you're awake." A saccharine sweet voice cooed somewhere above her head, and Ace cranked her neck back to see if the voice really belonged to who she thought it did. The busty blonde sat in a chair not far away, phone in hand, she held it up when she noticed Ace looking at her. "Nice phone, honey. It takes incredible pictures."

"You're the one who came into the shop asking about me." Ace worked it out. "Why would you do this to me?"

"Well my part was payback for taking everything away from me. You took Happy, and I might have been alright with that, but then he made me leave Nevada because of you. I think we're even now." Starla explained, sounding bored. She held the phone up again and Ace heard the shutter sound effect of her picture being taken.

"If we're square, then let me go." Ace reasoned, shutting her eye against the tears that she wished desperately would take a long fucking vacation.

"Oh, this isn't about me anymore. It isn't really even about you; you're just a means to the end. It's your old man the Bastardos want. Carlos is going to strip his cut and humiliate him in retaliation for that tattoo on his face."

"Shut your fucking trap, slut." Carlos barked, and Ace closed her eyes, willing her pulse to stop racing. The scuffle of his shoes didn't give her nearly enough warning to brace against the hard kick to her stomach, and Ace lost the ability to breathe, wheezing as she struggled. He dragged her to her feet by her hair, and Ace swayed, trying to find her balance, but it was futile because Carlos stomped ruthlessly on the backs of her knees. Unable to put her hands out to break her fall, Ace went face first into the dirty concrete, and her vision went grey from the impact to whatever the damage to her cheekbone was.

"Open your mouth." She came back to herself on her knees, with a hard dick in her face. She closed her eyes, but it didn't stop the useless tears from sliding hotly down her face.

"Please don't. Please." Ace begged, her voice small.

"Open your fucking mouth." She went completely still when she felt the muzzle against her temple. Shaking, she obeyed, hating herself for being so weak. "If you bite me, I will blow your fucking brains out, you got that?"

Ace checked out, taking a mental vacation back to Tacoma. She pretended she was back in Happy's dorm room, that morning after the fight with Lorca. She couldn't ignore her body for long, though, and she screamed when another Bastardo pushed into her from behind.

**No Other Man Alive**

Jax, Opie, and Chibs all stood outside the yellow police tape surrounding the door to the room that Happy and Ace had shared. They all watched solemnly as the gurney with the black body bag rolled past to the waiting ambulance.

"Roosevelt's on his way over, how you playing this, Prez?" Opie muttered under his breath to Jax.

"Mr. Teller." Lieutenant Eli Roosevelt crossed his arms and stared him down. "Motel owner says the room was paid for in cash, no name. He also said that the guy coming and going wore a cut, and that there was a woman staying here, too. What might you know about that, huh?"

"Yeah, Happy was staying here with his old lady." Jax admitted, lighting a cigarette. "But Happy's mom had a heart attack last night, he's down in Bakersfield. The hospital there can confirm."

"And his old lady? Is she in Bakersfield, also?" Roosevelt pressed, conversationally, but he didn't miss the look that passed between Jax and Opie.

"Sure." Jax finally answered.

"And her name…?" Roosevelt didn't sound conversational anymore, and he was beginning to lean forward.

"Don't know, man." Jax shook his head, shrugging casually.

"You don't expect me to believe that, do you?"

"Believe me or don't, man, I don't care. Happy's not on my crew anymore, so his old lady isn't any of my business."

"Well if you hear from either one of them, you let me know." Roosevelt shook Jax's hand and left the scene.

"Call everyone. Chapel in 90."

**No Other Man Alive**

Tig lay facedown on the couch in Happy's mom's fussy little livingroom, one arm trailing down onto the floor. At the sound of the prepay ringing, his head popped up and he fell off the couch trying to get to the phone in his pocket.

"Yeah?" He yawned

"Tig, we got a serious problem here." Jax replied, and Tig sat up with his back to the couch, trying to clear away the fatigue. "Shark was gunned down last night in Hap's motel room. Tell me you two really went straight up to the hospital."

"Shit. Yeah, man, we were there all night and all morning, just got back here about an hour ago. Is Ace alright?"

"Dunno, no sign of her. I was hoping you would know where she might have taken off to."

"Wait, you don't think she had anything to do with it. Jax, that don't make sense." Tig got to his feet, not wanting to wake Happy until he knew what was doing. He let himself out the front door, and circled the house to make sure the upstairs windows were closed.

"I don't know what to think. I know that Happy and Shark had some tension, and I know that Happy and his old lady aren't on the best terms, either. If she was around and had some sort of explanation, that'd be helpful, but she ain't here."

"Jax, if she's not there it's because someone took her. You gotta find out where she is." Tig was starting to panic, trying to figure out how he was going to tell Happy that his old lady was missing. "Happy's going to flip the fuck out."

"No. Tig, you are not going to say one word to him about this." Jax warned. "Not until we know more."

**No Other Man Alive**

"I need to use the bathroom." Ace informed the mid twenties gang member that was currently tasked with guarding her. The day had been an endless torture session, there were six Bastardos with her in the warehouse, and they'd never let up on her for a moment. Even when she'd lost consciousness, someone would douse her in cold water to bring her around and they'd continue. In the first hour, she'd tried to fight, but she quickly lost the energy to do even that, barely able to keep breathing. She was starting to hope that one of them would just kill her. She really had nothing left to go back to, and if she were dead, they couldn't try to use her to draw Happy out.

"Yeah, come on." The guy hauled her up by one arm, tucking his gun into the waistband of his jeans. He dragged her through the mostly empty warehouse, and she dimly thought that she should be taking notes on the layout, but she was too focused on that gun. It wouldn't get her out of the warehouse, but if she could get her hands on it, this could all be over. No more rape. No more violence. No need for Happy to ever know that she'd been ruined. She quickly glanced away from the gun when they came to a stop in the little hallway where the bathroom was. Bracing herself, she looked up at him imploringly.

"Could you cut my hands free? You can retie them in the front, I just need to be able to reach to, uh, you know." She indicated her body with her chin, pretending to be embarrassed.

"Turn around." He grunted at her, pulling out a pocket knife. Ace waited, muscles tensed as he sawed through the plastic. The second her wrists were free, Ace sprang into action, snatching the pistol from his waistband. She tried to maneuver the slide to chamber a round, but her hands were too swollen and numb to manage, and she sobbed, scrambling backward as the man advanced on her. Finally, out of room to move, she tried futilely to club him with it. Enraged, the man ducked the blow, and came in low with the knife, stabbing her in the side.

Only barely conscious, Ace felt herself being dragged back to her spot on the floor, and her hands were quickly secured behind her back again. She was aware that of the group gathering around her.

"I thought you said her old man would come for her." One of them accused.

"He will." She recognized Carlos' voice easily, and Ace prayed that by some miracle the tiny knife had found an artery and she'd bleed out. "I'm going to make sure of it. Get me the bitch's phone."

**No Other Man Alive**

Redwood's four remaining free members were uncharacteristically quiet sitting around the table. They all knew what had happened, and that Ace was nowhere to be found. Juice had his laptop out, furiously typing, attacking the firewall that protected the Sheriff's department database. Given what he knew about Ace and also the intelligence on the Bastardos that had been rolling steadily in for weeks, Juice was sure that she was in serious danger. All he had to do was convince Jax that she hadn't been responsible for Shark's demise, and for that he needed the on scene reports.

"Got it!" He yelled, triumphantly and started scanning through the detailed report. "No eyewitnesses, not surprising given that part of town, early ballistics indicate a Beretta. Doesn't seem like something Happy would give her, does anyone know what she carries?"

"Get my phone. Tig will know." Jax ordered Opie.

"Jax-all of Ace's stuff was still in the room. This has to be the Bastardos." Jax held up a finger to cut Juice off and took the phone from Opie.

"Tig?" Jax put it on speaker laying it on the table. "Do you know what Ace carries?"

"Yeah, man, she's a Glock girl. Registered G19, but carries an unmarked G39. Why?"

Jax met the eyes of his SAA and his intelligence officer, reading that both of them thought Ace was in danger.

"Listen, Tig, I think Ace might be-" The phone started beeping indicating a rapid fire of messages coming in, brows furrow, Jax leaned in and checked, and the first picture started loading. "Hang on a sec, Tig. What the fuck is that?" He started to tilt the phone in Opie's direction when the picture finished loading and clarified Jax's face went white and Opie looked ill.

"What, man? What's going on?" Tig sounded worried, but Jax couldn't answer him, because the pictures kept coming. They were all of Ace, being brutally raped, and beaten. The last one showed her lying on a dirty floor, blood pouring from a wound in her side. It was the only one with a caption. 'Are you Happy now?'

"Get Happy here now." Opie told Tig calmly. "His old lady needs him here."

Jax's phone started ringing again as soon as he hung up on Tig. Quinn. Then the bar line began ringing. And in moments, there was a chorus of ringtones as calls from the West Coast SOA Presidents began rolling in. Very slowly, Jax slid the phone to Juice, who took it, perplexed.

"Oh fuck." He breathed as the slideshow of depravity scrolled across the screen.

"Can you trace that number?" Jax asked him, and Juice dragged his attention away from the pictures and looked at the number. He didn't stop Chibs when he reached across the table to take the phone, still trying to figure out what had happened.

"That's Ace's number." Juice said quietly.

"Chibs, start answering the calls. Tell everyone not to call Tig. Anyone who wants to send reinforcements is welcome. Opie, call Romeo, I need to know everything about the Bastardos. And I mean, everything."

**No Other Man Alive**

Tig took the stairs three at a time, missing one and catching himself on the railing before launching himself upward again. Happy was already up when he reached the top of the stairs, the noise alerting him that something wasn't right.

"Is it my Ma, did something happen?" He croaked out, his voice rusty from sleeping.

"No, man." Tig shook his head. "Jax called. Shark was found dead in your room this morning. Ace is missing, we gotta get back to Charming."

Happy bumrushed Tig, shoving him hard against the wall, forearm against his throat.

"What the fuck do you mean, Ace is missing?" He glared, and his voice was deadly quiet.

"That's all I know." Tig was completely calm, not threatened by Happy's outburst. "We got to go. Jax's Cartel contacts are your best shot at finding her alive."

Happy pushed off of him, and disappeared back into his room. All he grabbed was his gun holster and cut, pulling them on as he headed down the stairs and out the front door. He was on his Harley and gone before Tig could get Delia's door locked behind him. Cursing, Tig took off after him, hoping that he would be able to catch up without killing himself.

**No Other Man Alive**

"Alright, these guys are pretty small time according to Romeo. They have some big contacts in the Lobos and Red Nation, which is how they tracked Ace down so easily. They've been biding their time since Tacoma, maybe before. Juice has the location of the phone, so if we can hold out until some extra bodies arrive, it should be cake to get Ace out." Jax explained. They were all still at the table, three hours later, trying to hash out a plan.

"Did you talk to any of them, brother?" Chibs asked, he'd been fielding the calls from the outraged Presidents. Reinforcements were coming from all the charters, available to help with the extraction or the blowback, but it took time for them to get to Charming. Tacoma was coming in force, but even at top speeds they wouldn't make it for another 8 hours. Nova and his partner, Bulldog had called in from the road, they were expected in the next hour or so.

"Sort of. The one who seems to be in charge said he'd only negotiate with Happy. He put Ace on, though, so we know she's still alive." Jax answered gravely.

"How'd she sound?" Juice asked, trying to rub the screen fatigue from his eyes.

"Alive." Jax avoided. "She asked me not to tell Happy-"

"Tell me what?" Happy burst through the door with Tig hard on his heels. The silence in the room was deafening, and it wasn't lost on him that not one single man looked him in the eye. "Someone better tell me what the fuck is going on."

There was more silence, and Jax and Juice exchanged looks. Finally Jax nodded, and Juice handed over the prepay. Opie muscled Happy into a seat, and looked significantly at Chibs, warning him to be ready for Happy to lose his shit. Tig watched over Happy's shoulder as he scrolled through the pictures. He turned away when they came to the picture of her with a dick in her mouth and a gun to her head, tears visible and the bruising on her eye was so dark it was black. Happy kept watching, though, and when he was done he closed the phone and placed it gently on the table.

"Who else has seen these." He demanded quietly, then shouted when no one answered him. "Who the fuck has seen these?!"

"A mass text was sent out from Ace's phone, it went to all the West Coast Presidents." Juice answered him, and Opie clamped a hand down on Happy's shoulder, keeping him in his seat.

"Calm down, brother, we're figuring it out." Opie warned him.

"Do you have a location?" Happy asked Juice directly, ignoring Jax's protests. Juice looked to Jax uneasily, then looked down at his hands.

"Yeah. She's close, Happy, and she's alive." Juice tried to reassure him, but his voice caught, and he cleared his throat loudly.

Happy pushed back from the table abruptly, shoving Opie hard when he tried to hold him down. He caught Chibs in the face with an elbow, and headed for the doors.

"Send the location to Tig." He yelled over his shoulder, and Tig followed him.

"Hey!" Jax yelled, jogging to keep up with Happy. "You can't go in there alone. There are at least six guys there that we know of-"

Happy spun on him and jacked him right in the mouth, and Jax went down hard. Happy stood over him.

"You know there are six of them because the entire MC sat here watching while they raped my _wife!"_ He roared, hands on his head, chest heaving.

"Just wait a few hours, Hap. Nova and Bulldog'll be here any minute, and guys are coming from every charter. We'll go in strong and decimate them, brother. You just gotta be patient."

"Did she look like she had a few hours to you? If I wait any longer, she's dead."

"Got the location." Tig pulled Happy off, and Jax stared at Juice in disbelief, as the two disappeared out the door.

"You just got him killed." Jax spat, as Opie helped him to his feet.

"Jax, those pictures, his old lady, I couldn't not give it to him. He's right, Ace won't last until Tacoma gets here."

**No Other Man Alive**

Tig followed Happy to the motel that Ace had been staying at. He watched his brother staring at the room he'd shared with his old lady.

"Give me the phone, Tig." Happy held out a hand.

"What are we doing, Hap? I got your back whatever you decide, but you hafta tell me what the plan is." Tig handed him the phone.

"You know as well as I do they want me. I'll offer the exchange, you get her back to safety." He didn't look at Tig, just kept staring at the door.

"Jax is right, they'll kill you."

"I don't think they will. At least not right away. We'll arrange a neutral location; they won't know that Juice traced their location. Wait for Tacoma, then come get me."

"And if you're wrong about that?" Tig asked, pulling off his sunglasses to wipe his face.

"If I'm wrong, take her to Tacoma. They'll watch out for her." Happy pulled his helmet off and lit a cigarette. "We'll need the van. Go let Jax know that I'm doing this. I'll be there in a while to let you know when and where."

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy dialed the number for Ace's phone, breath coming in pants. There was silence on the line.

"You got something that belongs to me." He growled, and fisted his left hand so hard it hurt.

"Ah, the Tacoma Killer finally shows. Took you long enough."

"Don't bullshit me. You want me. I want her. Where do you want to make the exchange?" Happy tried to open his fist and found that he couldn't.

"I'll text you the arrangements in half an hour. I'm looking forward to seeing you."

"Ah, ah, no. Put her on the phone, I need assurances." He cut Carlos Rivera off, and kicked a car when the little fucker laughed.

"Of course." And Happy heard him move the phone away from his face and the distinct sound of a slap, and he growled at his powerlessness. "Wake up. Your old man wants to hear from you."

"Hap?" Her voice was small and slurred, and Happy squatted down, covering his head with his free hand.

"Yeah, baby." He choked out. "Don't you worry, I'm coming for you. You gotta hang on for me."

"I'll try." She slurred.

"See? She's fine." Carlos came back on the line. "You'll come unarmed and alone."

"My partner will be with me to handle transporting her. We'll be unarmed."

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace couldn't even fight when they finally cut her hands free. They dropped her clothes on the floor, and she struggled hard to get them on, her hands were shaking from blood loss and she couldn't make her legs work enough to stand.

"You two, go meet them at the rendezvous. Make sure they're alone and unarmed. We'll be right behind you." Carlos directed. "Go put her in the van."

They weren't gentle with her, and she couldn't get her legs under her, so they dragged her. She closed her good eye and chanted Happy's name in her mind. Trying desperately to hold on to him coming for her. Dreaming about disappearing to Quinn's lake house or back to Tacoma, staying far away from Redwood. She moaned weakly when they tied her wrists again, the plastic digging into her bloody skin. They dumped her on the floor of the van, and she curled into herself in an attempt to protect the stab wound in her side. Happy. The Lake House. Tacoma. Tig. Happy.

**No Other Man Alive**

"You put on the vest, right?" Happy double checked with his partner as they watched a car coming toward the deserted underpass where they waited.

"Yeah." Tig answered. "You sure about this?"

"Yeah." They waited in silence as two Bastardos got out of the car, locked and loaded with autos. Sighing, Tig and Happy both put their hands in the air, submitting to the search. One of them peeled off and checked the van to make sure they were alone.

"We good here?" Tig smart mouthed. "Because if you want to get any more personal, you gotta take me out to dinner first."

They ignored him and pulled out a phone.

"All clear. They're alone and unarmed."

Happy leaned back against the hood of the van and crossed one boot over the other, hands clamped down on the edge to keep himself in place. Tig pulled him close, and Happy let him pull his head down, but couldn't return the embrace.

"I love you, brother." Tig told him, and stepped back as another van pulled up. Happy just nodded, putting his shoulders back, psyching himself up for what was to come.

"So good to see you again." Carlos got out of the van. "You ready, Happy?"

"Let me see her. You can give her to my partner and I'll come willingly, no fight."

Carlos nodded to one of his guys and they opened the side door of the van, and Happy could see her curled up on her side. He'd studied the pictures over and over, but they couldn't prepare him for the reality of how completely they'd devastated her. They pulled her upright, although it was clear she couldn't hold her own weight. She picked her head up and opened one eye, looking right at him. She smiled, and Happy felt like puking.

"Give her to my partner." He said again, pushing off from his position against the van. He put both his hands behind his head and waited until they'd pushed her across the way to Tig, who caught her before she hit the ground. He crossed the short distance without hesitation, eyes focused on the horizon, not resisting when they pulled his arms down behind his back.

"Take his cut." Carlos ordered, and his voice brought Ace partway out of her stupor. She looked from Tig to Happy and started shaking her head in protest.

"Jesus." Tig swore, holding her with one arm around her waist, incapable of looking away from his brother, letting his cut be stripped from his back, chin high and jaw clenched so tight all the muscles stood out.

"NO!" Ace screamed, coming alive in Tig's arms.

"Let me talk to her, say goodbye. You can do whatever you want to me." Happy bargained with Carlos, watching Tig struggle to hold onto her. His stomach roiled again when he caught sight of Tig's hand covered in blood.

"Hold his arms." Carlos nodded his permission.

Happy didn't waste any time, crossing to Ace. Tig held her upright, and she stopped fighting against him. Hap leaned down, resting his forehead on hers gently.

"You gotta go with Tig now, baby." And felt her shaking her head. "Shhh, no, don't worry about me. I'm so sorry." He opened his eyes, and looked right into her good one. "I love you. Now go with Tig, baby. Get her out of here now, Tig."

Tig scooped her up, carrying her to the passenger side. He deposited her gently, and turned to see them shove Happy to his knees. Carlos kicked him flat with a heel to the back.

"Lay his hand out." Carlos ordered, pulling an aluminum bat from the van behind him. "The right one. I'm going to make sure he can't pull a throttle."

Ace lunged across the console when Tig opened the driver's side door, screaming. He pushed her back and got in, locking the doors behind him. He held her tightly against him, her blood all over him.

"You gotta stop fighting me, doll. You're gonna get him killed. We are going to try and get him out, ok? But I promised him I'd get you to safety, so you gotta work with me."

He peeled out as she sagged against him, and he watched in the rear view mirror as the bat descended on his brother's hand over and over. He shifted Ace enough to reach his phone and dialed Jax's number.

"I got her. Make sure Chibs is available, she's in bad shape, Jax."

"Alright." Jax answered quietly. "How'd our boy do?"

"They broke his hand, Jax. Call Kozik. Tell them to hurry."

Tig hung up, and punched the gas even harder as Nova and Bulldog fell in behind the van. His hands were slick with Ace's blood, and he prayed that she was going to survive because Happy would be lost if this were all for nothing.

"Hang in there, sweetheart." Tig muttered, and kissed the top of her head.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer-No matter how big I dream, I'm still not the owner of the Sons of Anarchy. I do own this story, my depleted cast of OCs, and the relevant plotlines and themes. I also own a set of very sore hands from training and typing so much, so please don't yell if it takes me more than a day to update.**

_**Warning-This is a violent story, but this chapter isn't nearly as bad as the last one. I think it's fairly safe to read. PM for clarification if you need it.**_

Tig skidded to a stop as close to the clubhouse door as he could manage without hitting any of the Sons sitting and standing around waiting for him. Chibs had the passenger door open before Tig even got the van into park.

"Jaysus, she's a fucking mess!" Chibs exclaimed, peeling Ace off of Tig. He was shocked as hell when Ace cracked open one eye.

"Tell me you guys have a plan." She begged.

"Of course we do." Jax stepped close to where Chibs cradled her so that she could see him. "We're gonna get him out, but we gotta get you taken care of, ok?"

She nodded, and Chibs moved her inside, laying her out on one of the clubhouse tables that had clearly been prepped for the occasion. She was shaking hard, and couldn't seem to stop, and was grateful when Chibs tucked a blanket around her.

"I'm pretty sure you're going to the hospital sweetheart." He told her, gently probing her cheekbone. "I hafta check that wound in your side, alright?"

"Where's Tig?" Ace looked around, and he stepped up next to her head.

"I'm right here." And he took her hand, pulling up a chair. Chibs pressed a gauze pad into his other hand and slapped it down over the stab wound.

"Keep pressure on that. I'll be righ' back." Chibs went to Jax, pulling him close. "We can't wait to see how things shake down with Hap, Jackie. She needs surgery."

"Fuck. Alright. How do we play this? If the cops get ahold of her, and she tells them anything, Happy's a dead man." Jax pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to run scenarios and see the big picture.

"Tell her that, Jax." Juice said, leaning into the conversation. "She won't do anything that would put Happy in danger. We can pin it on the ROC. If she tells them she was blindfolded the whole time and they didn't speak English, there isn't anything the cops can go on."

"That was incredibly smart, Juicy." Chibs admired. "Alright, let's get her outta here. How long until Tacoma rolls in?"

"Kozik called a while ago. They'll be here within the hour. He was hauling ass." Chibs nodded, and headed back to Tig and Ace.

"Alright, sugar, we hafta get you to a hospital." He told her, and Ace started shaking her head, and bypassed him altogether, looking to Tig.

"No. I'm not going until you get him back for me."

"Oh yeah, you are." Tig told her. "You know the deal. You gotta stay alive. I'll get him back, I swear."

"Listen, they're going to ask you a lot of questions at the hospital." Jax joined in. "If you lead them back to the Bastardos, Happy's not going to make it out alive, understand?"

"So what do I need to say?" Ace gasped, tears rolling down her cheeks, and not one single man could look her in the eye.

"Tell them you were blindfolded, didn't see anything. They never spoke English around you, so you don't anything about them. They sounded Russian. Just stick to that." Jax told her, and she nodded. "Alright, Chibs you go with her. Tig, I'm gonna need you with me."

Ace stuck out a hand when Chibs went to scoop her back up.

"No, I need to shower first." She told them. "If any of them have a record and they get DNA off of me, your plan won't work."

"God, you even sound like him. Are there any chicks around that can help her?" Tig asked, looking around, but it was wall to wall Sons.

"Just get me in the shower, Tig, I'll be fine." Ace told him, wincing.

**No Other Man Alive**

It had been a humiliating trial for both Ace and Tig to get her undressed and seated in the shower. She was scrubbing her skin with the harsh Dial bar soap as hard as she could, with the hot water turned up. She tried not to think about the marks on her skin, or the fact that she was bleeding from the vagina.

"Tell me how you're getting him out, Tig." She said quietly, not needing to raise her voice, since Tig was sitting on the floor with his back against the bathtub.

"We're going to come in from two sides. Opie is going to set off some little bullshit explosives to draw them out. The Nomads are going to be with him, and their job is to incapacitate as many as they can. I'll take Tacoma in from the other end and finish the job. We're gonna bring him home, dollface." Tig replied.

"And if you don't? If they already killed him?" Ace asked, hissing against the sting of the soap and the thought of having already lost Happy.

"He made arrangements for you. But that ain't how it's going to happen." Tig told her, and Ace nodded, even though he couldn't see her.

"Help me out, Tig. The sooner I get out of here the sooner you can."

Tig dried her off and helped her dress in one of his shirts and a pair of boxers, doing his best to keep his eyes averted. It worried him that she felt hot to the touch.

"How much does he know, Tig?" She asked him, voice back to that slurry, weak shadow of her usual brash tone.

"All of it."

"Shit. I didn't want him to."

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy lay facedown on the floor of the warehouse, his wrists secured behind his back. His right hand was bloody, excruciating mess. The one look he'd gotten at it before he'd greyed out had him convinced that even if he got out of this, he might never ride again. It was painful to consider.

So far, other than his hand, all his injuries were fairly minor, just bullshit beatdown stuff. Carlos and that goddamn cunt from Nevada had left the premises a few hours ago, and it had been pretty quiet since. It had been dark for a while, Happy guessed at least 3 hours, which meant Tacoma had to have gotten to Redwood. All he had to do was bide his time. He actually felt pretty good with his prospects of getting out alive, but he was anxious to get it the fuck over. He had to get to Ace and make sure she was alright.

Happy reviewed everything he knew about her condition, starting from the top and moving down. She had some scary bruising around that left eye, and she'd never opened it, so there was probably some orbital rim damage. Hopefully there wasn't any damage to the actual eye. Her lip had been swollen and split, but he thought that might be his own doing. Moving past that unpleasant truth, there were bruises on her neck where someone had subdued her by strangulation. His own throat constricted at the thought, and he moved on. Her wrists had been bloody from the zip-ties. There was the wound in her side, which had to be a stab wound, no other explanation. He stopped himself there, because if he considered any further what had been done to her, he wouldn't be able to keep his shit together.

Instead, Happy moved on from Ace's injuries and probably prognosis to the revenge he was going to exact in her name. He prayed that whoever showed up would be able to incapacitate these fuckers without killing him, because he had a serious score to settle. He rehearsed the movements in his head, satisfied with the progression, but hating that he wouldn't have time to do more. In a perfect world he'd be able to draw the pain out for twice as long as they'd made her hurt. Once he was done here, he knew he had to go to her, begin to atone for all the many ways that he'd let her down.

When she was whole again, and his hand was healed, Happy had every intention of hunting Carlos Rivera down like a dog. His end wasn't going to be quick, but it sure was going to be bloody. And that gash was in for it, too.

Happy opened his eyes again, gauging the time. He forced his muscles to relax. Any minute now.

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace screamed as the Trauma doc in the emergency room probed the wound in her side. Chibs was holding her down by a shoulder and trying to distract her, unsuccessfully.

"You gotta calm down, Ace." Chibs hollered over her screaming. "Jaysus, doc, can't you give her something?!"

"I need to assess the damage first, sir. You're here as a courtesy to Mrs. Perez, if you don't calm down though, I'll have you removed." The doc sounded bored as he continued to rummage around inside Ace's gut. Finally, he pulled his fingers out and snapped off the gloves.

"Alright, well we're going to have to do a pelvic exam to see what the damage is, so let's get that over with while we wait for your x-rays, shall we? Mr. Telford, if you'd please step out to the waiting area."

"No, Chibs, you can't go." Ace grabbed his wrist in a vice grip, her breathing coming in gasps.

"Mr. Telford." The doctor repeated insistently.

"No, you heard the lady. I'm not leavin' her." Chib crossed his arms over his chest.

"Sir, do you know how invasive a rape exam is?" The doctor pressed, and Chibs looked a little nauseous.

"No. I do not consent to a rape kit." Ace piped up. "I need a pelvic exam. That's all."

"Ma'am, you've clearly been-"

"Raped. I am fully aware of that fact. I am not going to consent. Either do the pelvic or I'm leaving. Chibs?" Ace put her hand out for Chibs to help her up.

"Ok, Mrs. Perez. Let me just get a nurse in here."

Chibs felt her shaking and brushed her hair back from her face.

"Be quick, doc." He called after the doc.

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy grinned when he heard the first explosion go off. The five remaining bangers had all fallen asleep, and there was a tremendous amount of confusion as they were all jolted awake. Bracing himself against the agony, Happy rolled, retching at the pain in his hand. He managed to get his knees under him through sheer force of will.

"Go check that out!" One of them yelled, pointing to two of the others. "You two, go check the back."

Happy took the man's distraction as an opportunity, and got to his feet. His head protested the change in gravity, aching from the beating he'd taken earlier.

"I don't think so, _ese."_ The man caught him and pulled his gun, but Happy just stood his ground, grinning wickedly. He could hear the sound of gunfire, and even Tig and Kozik arguing. When the man glanced toward the sound of their voices, Happy sprang into action, rushing him. He leaned back and whipped his head forward as hard as he could, headbutting the fucker right in the temple. He went down hard and Happy spat on him.

"How you doing, brother? You ok?" Tig burst into the warehouse and jogged over to Happy, hugging him hard enough to make him stagger.

"I'm good. Zip-tie this asshole and then cut me loose." Happy ordered. "How's hugging my girl, Tig?"

"I don't know, man. Chibs had to take her to the hospital. Come here." Tig pulled his knife and got a look at Happy's hand. "Holy fuck."

"Just do it." And he yelled at the pain as Tig sawed through the ties, leaning over and dry heaving. The rest of the Tacoma boys poured in, dragging two bangers with them. "Did the entire charter come down?"

"Didn't want to miss the fun!" Kozik whooped, and kicked the man on the ground for emphasis. "Good to see you, brother."

Happy was surrounded by his brothers from Tacoma, and he was overwhelmed by the support. He breathed hard, wrapping his good hand around Kozik's blonde head, holding him forehead to forehead.

"You're ok, brother." Kozik told him. "You got work, and then we're going to get you outta here and go see your old lady, ok?"

"Yeah." Happy pulled away in time to see Opie and most of the Nomads bringing the remaining two Bastardos. "You guys didn't think this might be overkill?"

**No Other Man Alive**

"Alright, Mrs. Perez, we're going to take you to surgery now." The nurse smiled at her reassuringly, but Ace just turned panicked eyes on Chibs.

"Call them again." She begged, but Chibs shook his head.

"No, darling', you go get fixed up. He'll be out by the time you wake up." Chibs told her, walking along with the gurney as they rolled her through the halls. "I won't be far, I promise."

And then she was through the doors, Chibs on the other side.

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy surveyed the five men tied on the floor before him. Donut had fashioned a sling out of a t-shirt, so his fucked up hand stayed close to his chest.

"Tig, I need your knife." He demanded, holding out his left hand, grateful that even though he might never ride again, they'd left him his stronger hand to finish the job. "Pull that one up on his knees; it's time to do work."

He watched as Opie got the first one on his knees, and in his mind he flipped through the pictures he'd seen, identifying him.

"Got anything you want to say?" He asked, but before the man could reply, Happy hauled off and kicked him in the balls. Next he brought the hilt of the knife down as hard as he could on the man's cheekbone, sending blood flying. He didn't pause, tossed the knife to change his grip, and stabbed him in the side, pulled the blade and slashed his throat. He nodded to Opie to get the next one, and repeated the same process.

"Any idea what he's doing?" Kozik asked Tig quietly.

"He's recreating what they did to her." Tig said, turning away, prepay in hand. "I'll be out front, I'm calling Chibs to find out how Ace is, he's gonna need to know when he's done here."

**No Other Man Alive**

Every single inch of Ace's body hurt when she came back to herself. She worked hard trying to think through the haze. Hospital, she was at the hospital, she'd had surgery. Repairing her eye, her belly, and the damage done to her vagina. She shifted a little, trying to assess how badly she was still hurt, and the weight on her stomach disappeared.

"Ace?" His voice was even harsher than usual, and Ace started crying, her eyes still closed tight. The pain in her head and belly were intense, but she couldn't stop the ugly sobs. "Shh, calm down. You need to settle, baby. If they come in here and know you're awake, they're going to make me leave."

She concentrated on calming her breathing, and the weight of his arm across her legs.

"That's right, good girl." He stroked her hair back from her forehead, careful not to disturb the bandages covering her left eye. She finally worked up the courage to open her right eye, and drank him in. He didn't look nearly as bad as she'd expected, but he didn't look good either.

Happy moved toward her, and Ace flinched back against the pillows. He stopped and waited while he breathing slowed again.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked, feeling helpless. "If it's too much, it's fine."

"It's ok." She croaked. "Just be slow."

He inched toward her, the sound of the monitors suddenly loud in the room. He brushed his lips across hers once, then twice, then pressed them very gently against hers. When he pulled back, he saw that her eye was still wide open.

"Hap?" She questioned, and he swallowed hard against the lump in his throat.

"Yeah, Ace?" He kept stroking her hair back, incapable of stilling his hand, even though it shook.

"I fought back." She whispered, and the bald statement shattered him. He pressed his face into her side so she wouldn't have to see him fall apart.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer-My name is not Kurt Sutter. I don't own the Sons of Anarchy, but I am the sole owner of this story, my OCs, and a husband who just found this fic. Everyone say hi!**

Kozik cracked the hospital door open and looked in. The Tacoma Killer was half in a chair, and halfway on his old lady's bed. They weren't talking, just looking at each other, his head on the pillow next to hers. Ace was stroking the back of his head, and Kozik was struck by the raw tenderness between them, and also how unexpectedly strong Ace looked, despite the bandage covering her left eye, and the bruises it didn't quite conceal.

Kozik looked back down the hallway, and knew that Happy's time was up by the nurse marching his way. He nodded to Nova, who got to his feet immediately.

"Go slow her down a bit so I can get him out, I don't think he's going to be happy about leaving." He told the Nomad, who flashed a roguish grin and stepped off. Shaking his head, Kozik knocked lightly on the door, noting the way his brother reflexively tried to cover as much of Ace as possible with his own body before he saw who it was.

"Sorry, bro." Kozik apologized, hands held up. "Nurse is headed this way. We had a deal, time to go."

"Go?" Ace asked, confused, looking to Happy with her brow furrowed. Happy in turn looked to Kozik, measuring his resolve, and scowling when Kozik shook his head in warning.

"I gotta go get my hand checked out." Happy told her, tucking it back into the sling. He put a finger across her lips to stop her reaction to the first look she'd gotten at his hand. He'd purposely kept it out of her line of sight so far. "Don't. I'll be fine."

"C'mon, Killah, you're outta time." Kozik put an arm around his shoulders, drawing him away. Happy backed toward the door reluctantly.

"Go on." Tig let himself into the room, and helped push Happy out. "I'll stay with her. Nova and Bulldog are out in the hall, and Tacoma's got a few guys in the waiting room down the hall. Absolutely no one is gonna get close to her."

"Yeah." Happy nodded, looking past him into the room, then refocused on Tig. "Tell the nurse to give her something for pain, that eye is bothering her more than she's gonna let on."

"C'mon, big guy." Kozik turned Happy, and frog marched him toward the elevators.

**No Other Man Alive**

"Hey! Calm Down!" Tig yelled, shaking her shoulder, and Ace struggled, trying to figure out where the screaming was coming from when she realized it was her. She pushed Tig away roughly, and sat up, panting, holding one hand out to keep him at bay. She looked around the sun bright room, trying to think through the drug haze.

"Where is he?" Ace demanded. "He was here. I didn't imagine that."

"Hap's fine, dollface. They took him into surgery an hour ago to fix up his hand. I'm sure he'll be back in here in a couple hours, no matter what the doc tells him."

"How bad is his hand?" Ace asked dully, curling onto her side, blanket pulled up over her shoulder. Tig studied her for a long moment before answering.

"Pretty bad. It'll be months before he can ride again, but he's a tough bastard, so don't worry." Tig said, kicking back into the recliner, putting his sunglasses on against the daylight.

"Did he kill them?" She whispered after a few minutes of silence. Tig looked over the top rim of his glasses at her.

"Let him tell it. He needs it." And Ace nodded, closing her eye again, keeping it closed even when Tig spoke again. "You're safe. We're not ever gonna let anything happen to you again."

**No Other Man Alive**

"Not exactly the homecoming I expected, Jax." Bobby Elvis commented, as Redwood sat at their table. A couple guys from New Mexico and SAMTAZ stood around the perimeter of the Chapel, and Clay sat in a chair behind Jax, smoking a cigar. Tacoma and the Nomads were noticeably absent, still at St. Thomas with Happy and Ace.

"I know, Bobby. SAMCRO dropped the ball on this one." Jax admitted, glancing behind him at his stepfather. "I'm personally offering my old truck to Happy. Bowie says he won't be able to ride for months. I'm also covering whatever expenses they have here until he gets back on his feet. I'm hoping SAMCRO will vote to cover their hospital bills. We're flush from the deal with Galindo and the Irish, we can take the hit."

The vote made it around the table with a chorus of subdued yeas. SAMTAZ's SAA stepped toward the table when it passed.

"SAMTAZ isn't as rich as Redwood, but we can kick 5% up over the next three months to help."

"Did your charter already vote it?" Jax asked, surprised at the offer.

"Voted it this morning. We're also going to be available if Happy needs backup to finish the job."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy hated feeling like he wasn't in control, and being put under anesthesia was about as out of control as it got. He fought to wake all the way up with everything he had, not caring that his hand felt like it was on fire. Pain he could deal with, laying somewhere helpless he couldn't.

"Don't worry, Killah, you aren't unprotected." Kozik told him, and it did ease him a little. He lifted his left hand to his face slowly, trying to rub the fog from his head.

"Fuck." He wheezed, his throat a goddamn mess from being intubated during surgery. His eyelids were heavy, but he forced them open anyway. He got a good look at his right hand, casted from fingertip to elbow, and even though he'd expected it, it was still a blow. Kozik held out a cup of water and Happy took it, hand shaking a little. "How bad was it?"

"Your doc said six weeks until the cast comes off. They won't know anything about function until then." Kozik informed him, and Happy nodded, not surprised.

"Ace?"

"She's alright. Tig's still with her, Nomads on the door." Kozik tried to settle him down, but Happy was already trying to sit up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "Hey, where ya think you're going, Killah?"

"Ain't staying here with her still laid up. I got my hand fixed, that was the deal. Now where the fuck are my clothes?" Happy swayed dangerously as he got to his feet, pulling the monitor off of his finger and going for the IV when he realized that he couldn't get it off one handed.

"Sit down, you fucking idiot. I'll get the nurse and sign you out." Kozik dropped the bag with Happy's clothes on the bed next to him.

Happy ripped the hospital Johnny from his shoulders, rummaging through the bag to find his boxers. He got those on easily enough, but growled in frustration when he couldn't fasten his jeans. Abandoning it as a lost cause he got socks on, relieved that Kozik had brought him a clean pair, and stomped his boots on.

The nurse threw the door open with a huffy attitude, and stared at all the ink Happy had exposed.

"Take a fucking picture." Happy spat, awkwardly shoving his cast through the arm of the plain white t-shirt, and pulling it over his head.

"You need to sign this stating that you're checking yourself out _against _medical advice." The nurse told him snottily, holding out the clipboard. Happy took the pen and signed sloppily, barely looking at it. She rolled her eyes and handed a stack of paperwork to Kozik. "His aftercare instructions."

"Well she was a ray of fucking sunshine." Kozik observed, waiting on Happy, who was still sitting on the bed.

"A little goddamn help?" Happy asked, holding his cast up and gesturing to his open jeans. Kozik looked at him in disbelief, then shut the door behind him.

"You tell anyone about this, I'll break your other fucking hand." Kozik told him, finishing the job for him.

**No Other Man Alive**

Tig was on his feet, hand in his cut when Happy came through the door without knocking.

"Christ, you scared me." He said, and came around the bed to his brother. "Fuck, man, your hand."

"I'm fine." Happy brushed him off. "How's my girl?"

"Sleeping a lot." Tig answered, running a hand through his unruly hair, looking uncomfortable. "She woke up screaming earlier, wanted to know if they were dead. I told her it had to come from you."

Happy just nodded, and took over Tig's position next to the bed. Tig and Kozik both sat down in chairs across the room, pretending to ignore Happy with his old lady.

"Wake up, baby." He rubbed her unbruised cheek with a thumb until she blinked her eyes open. Moving very slowly to make sure she didn't get spooked, he kissed her.

"Hi, big man." She breathed, and pushed herself up, looking around. "How's the hand?"

"Bulky." He grinned, holding up the cast for her inspection. The smile died when she took it gently between her two hands and kissed his fingertips. Letting go, she moved back on the bed and nodded to the empty space. Happy propped the head of the bed up a little and slid on, letting her curl up against him. He pulled her carefully closer to his left side, burying his face in her messy hair.

"Fuck, yes." He sighed, feeling calmer than he'd felt since they were in bed in Tacoma, the morning after the fight with Lorca. It hardened his resolve to get her out of Charming the second she could travel. "How're you feeling, crazy Ace?"

"Loopy. I hate being drugged." She rubbed her hand across his stomach, and slid it under his shirt. "Where's your cut?"

"Rivera left before the guys picked me up. I'll take it back from him when my hand is better." Happy promised her, trailing his fingers lightly over the few inches of exposed skin on her back. He stopped when she froze, and moved his hand to her covered shoulder. "I'm so proud of you."

"What for?" She asked, her words started to sound garbled and sleepy. Her head shot up though at the sound of the door. Tig and Kozik were on their feet for the split second before they identified the doctor.

"Quite the set of bodyguards you have, Miss Perez." The woman commented drily.

"Missus." Happy corrected her, arm tightening protectively around Ace. "She's my wife."

"Of course." The doc didn't skip a beat, just washed her hands and turned lights on, finally arriving at the bedside. "I'm Dr. Clemson. How are you feeling, Mrs. Perez?"

"Alright." Ace answered, scooting up to a sitting position. "The pain meds are making me sleep a lot."

"That's a good thing. We want you to give your body every chance to begin healing itself. I need to check on your surgical sites, are we going top to bottom, or bottom to top?"

"Top to bottom?" Ace answered uncertainly.

"Gentlemen?" Dr. Clemson said pointedly with a raised brow toward the door. Tig and Kozik didn't hesitate in stepping out, closing the door behind them. The doctor pointedly ignored Happy altogether, looking directly at Ace. "Are you comfortable with your husband staying for this?"

Ace felt Happy stiffen beside her, and she laid a hand on his arm to stop any protest.

"It's fine for him to be in here for anything." She said firmly.

"Alright, well I am going to need you to give us a little space, Mr. Perez." The doc began peeling the bandage back from Ace's face while Happy moved his disgruntled self to hover as close to the bed as he could get without technically being on the bed. "Everything is looking good, here. Can you open the eye just for a minute? Good. You're very lucky there was no damage to the optic nerve."

The doctor pulled the bandage the rest of the way off, and Happy was horrified by the bruising and neat line of stitches. He kept his face completely neutral, though, through sheer force of will.

"We'll leave that off for now. How are the wrists?" The doc kept moving along in a very matter- of-fact manner, peeking under the bandages circling her wrists.

"Fine." Ace answered, and reached for Happy's hand, getting more nervous as the doctor moved downward. The Johnny was pushed up and the sheet down enough to expose the stapled wound in her side.

"This was relatively shallow, but it got infected, so we have you on some pretty heavy duty antibiotics, which will also prevent any other infections from setting in. The staples are a little easier to care for, they'll need to come out in a week."

The doctor paused in her exam and looked Ace directly in the eyes again.

"I need to do a quick internal. It will be very fast. Are you sure you want your husband here for this? I can get a nurse in here instead if you'd like." She offered.

"No, I need him here." Ace clenched her jaw and closed her eyes as the doc pulled the Johnny down to give her some privacy.

"OK I need you to relax your knees apart, this will be very quick." Ace turned her face away from Happy, and all her muscles tensed. "Ok, I'm done."

Wincing, Happy let Ace pull the covers back over her before he drew her face toward him. He ignored the doctor entirely, carefully wiping away the tears that had leaked from her eyes. He kissed her forehead, and looked her in the eye.

"You're ok." He said, waiting for her nod. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Everything felt fine." The doctor broke in, snapping her gloves off and heading for the door. "The stitches will dissolve on their own in a week or so. The tears make you more susceptible to infection, but we've got you on antibiotics. We'll test for STDs again in 3 months, and at 6 months."

"How long does she have to stay here?" Happy stepped around the bed to stop the doctor from leaving.

"As long as her vitals stay stable and there's no fever, I'd be comfortable releasing her the day after tomorrow." The doctor thrust her hand out for a handshake, then noticed the cast, and awkwardly shoved her hand in her pocket with a nod. Happy followed her out to the hall, a little surprised at how many patches were hanging around.

"Everything cool?" Lorca asked from the chair pulled right up next to the doorframe.

"Yeah. How many Tacoma guys are still here?" Happy asked, still half in the room.

"Twelve of us came down, everyone is still here. Everyone's down the hall in the waiting room, I think they ordered pizza." Lorca answered. "Do you need something?"

"Nah, man. I need to talk to Ace first. Can you keep everyone available for a little while?"

"We're not going anywhere, brother." Lorca sat back in the chair, and Happy clapped him on the shoulder and headed back into the room.

"Hey, where are you going?" He asked, spotting Ace struggling to get off the bed, all her monitors and her IV tangled up.

"I have to pee." She snarled, frustrated and swiped at her face. Happy helped sort her shit out and got her upright.

"Good?" He hovered behind her as she moved slowly to the bathroom, curled a little at the waist. From his vantage point, he had the terrible misfortune of being able to see the livid red and purple bruises on the inside of her thighs. His left hand cranked in a fist and he wished again that he had had more time at the warehouse. In his mind, he went over it again. Kick to the groin; shatter the eye socket, knife in the side, and across the throat.

"I really hate this." Ace muttered as Happy helped her get turned around to sit on the toilet.

"Me too, baby." He told her, grinning. He turned his back and turned the water on as high as it would go. "Kozik had to get my pants on for me. Don't tell him I told you that, though, because he said he'd break my other hand if I did."

Ace snorted and then winced, the urine burning all the broken tissue she had going on in the crotch. Checking to make sure that Happy's back was still turned, she checked out the damage. The bruises told a pretty clear story, but those were temporary. Hunching over, hand pressed to the line of staples in her side, she spread her legs further, and was relieved to see that everything still at least looked normal, just swollen.

"You done, yet? Need help?" Happy asked, and Ace rushed to finish cleaning herself.

"I'm good, help me up?" Ace sighed, and held her hands out to him.

Happy pulled her up, and habit had him crowding her, so that she had to lean back to look up at him. He took a half step back, and picked her wrists up one at a time to get a better look at them. He slid the sleeves of the Johnny up, his thumb caressing each bruise before moving on to the next. He cupped her cheek and kissed her bruised eye.

"Hap…" She whispered, clinging to his bicep, not sure what else she wanted to say.

"I need to see, but I'll stop if you say so." He traced the curve of her jaw, down her neck. "Can you trust me, Ace?"

"I-don't know." She admitted quietly. "I can try."

He moved her so that she could see him in the mirror and stepped behind her. He kept his eyes on hers as he pulled the ties, opening the two sides. Glancing down quickly, he noted each fingerprint bruise and the memory of the marks he'd left on her, from clamping a hand down on her hip, or biting her neck, or using her ass as a handhold, it all made him sick.

Happy retied the strings, moving back to stand in front of her. He went to his knees before her, holding his useless bulky arm out for balance. He ran a hand up her right leg pushing the hemline up with it. He sat back on his heels, feeling her shaking. The bruises on her thighs were even more angry from the front. Ace put a hand down on his, stopping his progress.

"No more." She told him quietly, and he nodded, eyes on his hands in his lap. Her hands came down on his head and he rested his cheek against her hip as she stroked his head.

"I can never atone for what they did to you. What I let happen to you."

"Happy, it wasn't your fault." She told him, and he felt her tears falling on the back of his neck, and shook his head silently.

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy settled Ace back in the bed, sliding her back onto his chest.

"Take your shirt off." She demanded sleepily. "It's too weird without your cut."

He sat up and struggled out of the shirt. He'd been about to toss it, but she took it from him, tucking it underneath her cheek.

"When you're released, I want to get the hell out of Charming." He told her, leaning his back against the pillows.

"That sounds good." Ace agreed, her free hand tracing the letters tattooed into his skin. I live, I die, I kill for my family.

"So where do you want to go?" He asked her, and she tiled her head back to look at him questioningly. "I'm out of work for a while. We can go wherever you want."

She was quiet for a long moment, looking up at him before she smiled.

**No Other Man Alive**

"Bulldog." Happy squeezed his shoulder. "Is Tacoma still down in the waiting room?"

"All of em. And Tig, too." Bulldog answered gruffly, and Happy pulled Ace's door closed behind him.

"No one in. For any goddamn reason." He told Bulldog, and knew he probably looked as crazy as he felt. Bulldog opened his cut far enough for Happy to see his piece, then moved his chair directly in front of the door.

"Go handle your business. I'll keep her safe." Bulldog said, crossing his arms.

Happy rolled his shoulders and set off down the hallway, anxious to get things settled so that he could go back to her. The waiting room was a rowdier scene than he figured the hospital had ever seen, and he couldn't help but grin at his brothers.

"Every time I see you, man, you have less clothes on. Where's your fucking shirt?" Kozik asked, rubbing Happy's head.

"Ace stole it. I gotta talk to Bowie. To all of you, really." Happy told him, and Kozik grinned triumphantly, but didn't say a word, just pulled him right into the middle of the room.

"Anything you need, brother, it's yours." Bowie told him gravely.

"I can't put in any formal requests." Happy held up the casted hand in explanation. "And I can't say what we'll decide after we're both whole again, but when Ace gets out of here in a couple days, she wants to go back to Tacoma to recupe."

"Nothing would make me happier. I wish it would have been under better circumstances, though." Bowie clasped Happy's left hand with his.

Happy turned to seek out Tig and found him at his right hand.

"It's up to you how you want to handle this, brother. If you want to head out on your own or see if Quinn can find you another partner, I'll understand." He told him.

"Nah, man. I need to see this through." Tig said seriously.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer-I own this story, my original characters, and all relevant plotlines. The rest belongs to Kurt Sutter and FX.**

"Thanks, Nova. I appreciate you helping out, brother." Happy offered his left hand awkwardly to the uncommonly handsome Nomad, who bypassed it and hugged him, slapping his back hard.

"Anytime. You know we love Delia." Nova said, grinning.

"You love her tamales." Happy accused and Nova shrugged, because he really, really did.

"Don't cheapen what Delia and I have." Nova quipped and Happy punched him in the stomach.

"My aunt will be there in a few days, just set up the shit with the home nurse." Happy said, shoving Nova toward the parking lot, where Bulldog and the other Nomads were already mounted up and waiting.

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace sat curled in the recliner in her room, watching Jenna who was nursing her tiny son on Ace's bed.

"He's beautiful." She said, smiling at her friend.

"You say that every time. I promise you, he isn't nearly so cute when he's screaming at 3 in the morning." Jenna commented, drily.

"Can I hold him when you're done?" Ace asked, leaning her cheek against the back of the chair.

"Here, he's already done, take him." Jenna slid her shirt back into place after handing the baby over. "You're sure he's not too heavy for you?"

"He's fine." Ace traced a finger down the baby's round cheek, and then wiped her face. "Dammit, my eyes are leaking again."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Jenna asked softly, laying a hand on Ace's shoulder.

"No. Yes. I don't know." Ace sniffed, laughing a little, the slightest note of hysteria in her voice. "It all feels a little surreal, like a nightmare."

"It really shook Juice up. He and Jax got in a huge fight over what happened at the clubhouse." Jenna held out the box of tissues.

"What do you mean? What happened?" Ace asked, mopping up her face. Jenna looked a little uncomfortable at the realization that Ace may not know the entire story of what happened to her.

"Jax didn't want Juice to give Happy the location where you were being held until after the other charters got here. Juice did it anyway; he didn't think you'd last until Tacoma made it down." Jenna explained. "It really shook him up, he's talking about jumping charters."

"I think he might have saved my life." Ace said, passing the sleeping infant back to his mother. "Can you help me wash my hair? I can't get the stitches on my face wet."

"Of course, honey." Jenna tucked the baby into his stroller, and parked him right outside the bathroom door.

"You're not going to freak out over my bruises are you?" Ace asked warily. "Because it's really bad enough with Happy."

"No freaking out, I promise." Jenna crossed her heart. "How is your old man handling all this?"

"Mostly pretty quiet." Ace pulled the Johnny off, and narrowed her eyes at Jenna in warning. "He blames himself."

"Here, lean back." Jenna started running warm water through Ace's hair, which was a spectacularly tangled mess. "Do you blame him?"

"No. He was going to his mother, I can't blame him for that." The water and Jenna's hands were incredibly soothing, and Ace closed her eyes. "Besides, if he had been there, maybe it would have been him that got killed."

"Can I ask a personal question?" Jenna began combing through the tangles. Ace snorted a little and cracked one eye open.

"I'm naked, how much more personal do you want to get?" She asked.

"I heard that you two got in a fight that night, before everything happened." Jenna handed the showerhead to Ace. "It's all yours."

"Thanks. Uh, yeah, we did." Ace washed quickly, not interested in seeing herself in the process.

"What was that all about? I've never even seen you two disagree." Jenna commented from her perch on the toilet, thankfully out of Ace's view.

"I showed up unexpectedly and saw something I wish I hadn't." Ace closed her eyes against the memory, but that didn't stop her skin from breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Ah, a croweater." Jenna sounded resigned.

"Is that…normal?" Ace asked, uncertain whether she really wanted to hear the answer. "Has Juice ever?"

"Not that I know of." Jenna said. "But the standard rule is that whatever happens on a run stays on a run. They're not supposed to bring that shit around us. It's a weird code of ethics."

"So I'm just supposed to be ok with it?" Ace turned the water off, and took the towel that Jenna passed through the shower curtain.

"I don't know." Jenna said. "If I had to see it, Juice had better give me a reason. For what it's worth, I can't imagine one moment of stupidity on his part cancelling out everything else you guys are. Happy literally traded his life for yours. If he can explain it, I'd give him a pass this time."

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy looked back at the hospital another time before climbing into the truck Jax had pulled up in. He knew that Tig and Kozik had positioned themselves right outside Ace's door and that nothing would get through the pair, but it made him twitchy not being with her.

"Thanks for the ride." He grunted reluctantly. The decisions Jax had made concerning Ace's abduction were a nearly physical barrier between the two.

"Listen, man, I know you're pissed." Jax began, drumming his thumbs nervously on the wheel. "But I was trying to make the best call for the club, and considering the floor show you and Ace put on, I had no way of knowing what the score was."

"It wasn't your call to make. My old lady, my call. And it wouldn't've changed anything even if she had managed to pull the trigger."

"You'd let your old lady shoot you?" Jax laughed, incredulous. "You're outta your fucking mind, Happy."

Happy just shrugged, he wasn't about to try to explain it to Jax. If Ace had shot him that night, he would have deserved it, and it might have kept her from being abducted. That sounded like a better than fair tradeoff. Besides, Ace was a good shot, and while he absolutely could see her pulling the trigger, he was fairly confident that she wouldn't have gone for a kill.

"Alright, Rosen's already here and I know Roosevelt already checked your alibi, so it should be smooth sailing. I'll wait for you."

**No Other Man Alive**

"Hey, hey, I don't think so!" Tig physically put himself in front of Ace's door, cutting off Roosevelt's access.

"Mr. Trager, a pleasure to see you back in Charming." Eli Roosevelt commented politely and waited, but Tig didn't answer, just crossed his arms. "I'm going to need to get in to see Mrs. Perez, get a few answers from her about what happened to her and your dead buddy in the motel. Now you can let me in or I'll have you arrested for obstruction."

"Can't it wait? At least until her old man gets back, she's still pretty jumpy." Kozik tried to reason with the Sheriff.

"See, that's the thing, gentlemen. Mr. Perez is currently being detained for questioning down at the station. Figured it would be convenient since he was there picking up their stuff anyway." Roosevelt informed them, and it was clear that he knew he had the upper hand. Tig and Kozik exchanged a look, but Tig wasn't ready to back down, yet.

"This is a dirty fucking trick." He pointed a finger right into the Sheriff's face. "Give me a minute; her friend was helping her get cleaned up."

Eli spread his hands, indicating acquiescence. He waited patiently while Tig knocked and disappeared inside.

"She's a good girl, man, and she's been through a lot. Do you really have to do this now?" Kozik asked. "Ace isn't hiding anything, and Hap makes her more comfortable."

"I just want to help find out who would do something like this to her." Roosevelt turned to face Kozik. "Unless you have some insight you'd care to share?"

**No Other Man Alive**

"Hey doll." Tig sat at the foot of the bed where Ace was sitting cross legged while Jenna braided her hair back. "Listen, the Sanwa Sheriff is here to ask you some questions. I tried to stall him, but he orchestrated this so that your old man would be detained while getting your stuff."

"Shit." Ace's stomach did a slow roll, but she shook her head and squared her shoulders. "Ok, I can do this. And then he'll go and they have to let Happy go, right?"

"Yeah, they don't have anything on either of you; he just wants to rattle your cage. Kozik and I will be in here the whole time." He assured her. "Jenna you should take off."

**No Other Man Alive**

"Yeah, I was at the hospital all night. Then I went to my mom's house early afternoon to get some sleep." Happy looked at Rosen, because they'd been going in circles, and the Sergeant kept looking at the clock.

"Right, and did you talk to anyone while you were there? Neighbors? Relatives?" The Sergeant pushed, drumming a pen nervously on the table.

"No, I was at the hospital then I went home to sleep, but my Harley was in the drive, everyone in the neighborhood knows me."

"I'm sure they do, Mr. Perez." The Sergeant replied, then looked to the clock again. Happy was starting to feel like something wasn't right. That feeling was compounded when Jax knocked on the reinforced glass. Happy looked back to the Sergeant and decided it was time for the magic words.

"Am I free to leave?" He asked, a smartass smile in place.

"Well, I-" The Sergeant was clearly nervous, and Happy was pretty grateful when Rosen broke in to earn his retainer.

"You've already checked out his alibi and timeline, so either charge him or let him go." Rosen stood, picking up his briefcase and motioning Happy toward the door.

"What's the problem?" He asked Jax in the hallway.

"Roosevelt set you up to be detained for a while. He's at St. Thomas, questioning your old lady." Jax was pulling him through the tiny reception area to the door.

"Fuck!" Happy roared, and kicked an empty chair hard enough to send it flying.

"Not a good idea, bro, come on." Jax got an arm around Happy's waist and pushed him out into the sunlight.

"Do you need me?" Rosen asked.

"No, Roosevelt will be done by the time we get there, get their stuff and meet us." Jax told him as they crossed the parking lot.

"How did he get in? Tig and Kozik were supposed to be watching out for her!" Happy threw an elbow into the side panel of the truck.

"Hey, don't dent your new ride, bro. Tig is in with her, Kozik called me. They got railroaded, they didn't have a choice, but Kozik said she was doing fine with it." Jax had the truck in reverse before Happy even got his door closed.

"I really hate this fucking town, brother." Happy growled, slamming his head back into the headrest. "The second they cut her loose tomorrow, I'm putting this place in the rearview."

"You guys already made that decision?" Jax asked, not surprised, but definitely a little hurt.

"Yeah, I put in an unofficial request for Tacoma. Wasn't exactly how I planned to tell you." Happy went to rub his face with his hands and remembered the cast, letting his bum hand fall back into his lap.

"It's cool. I get it."

**No Other Man Alive**

"Are we done here?" Tig was pacing the length of the room, agitated.

"Yeeees, I think that will be all." Roosevelt stood to go. "Just one more thing. Mrs. Perez, if there's anything else you might want to share, or you find that your recollections of the event change, you call me."

"Mmm." Ace hummed noncommittally, taking the card he held out to her, and dropping it on the nightstand without looking at it. She watched Tig throw himself at the door when it slammed open, but Tig backed off when he saw it was Happy.

"Are you alright?" He demanded, looking only at her, and she nodded, so he turned to the Lieutenant. "Get out. If you ever come near my wife again without a warrant for arrest-"

Tig slapped a hand over Happy's mouth to prevent the threat he'd been about to make. Happy shook him off and glared at the Lieutenant, then turned his back and went to Ace.

"Time to leave, piggy." Tig opened the door for the Sheriff.

"Oh, very clever, Mr. Trager." He commented drily as he passed between Tig and Kozik, out to the corridor.

"Very caveman." Ace observed, as Happy wrapped his arm around her head, drawing her into his chest. "That was actually a little bit sexy."

"Yeah?" Happy grinned, letting her pull back to look up at him, and for the tiniest moment, everything felt like normal. He kissed her and it was the first time she had closed her eyes, and he let himself believe that they might come out the other side.

"She did fine, Hap. Stuck to the Russian bit, even I started to believe her." Tig stuck a toothpick in his mouth and took up residence in his chair by the door.

"You did good." Happy kissed the top of her head, and sat behind her, pulling her back against him with both arms. Ace trailed her fingers across the exposed tips of Happy's fingers, and yawned. "Get some sleep, Ace."

**No Other Man Alive**

"Knock knock." Jax stuck his head in the room an hour later. Happy put a finger to his lips, indicating Ace, still slumbering against his chest. Jax held up two duffel bags, and handed them off to Kozik. "Brought your stuff from the station."

"Thanks." Happy said quietly, trying not to let his arms tighten around her in response to anyone coming into her space. He didn't know if he'd ever be able to hit the road again, the idea of leaving her unprotected made him ill. At some point he'd have to really figure out how he was going to move forward with the club and with her, but today wasn't that day.

"How's she doing?" Jax asked, sitting next to the bed.

"Alright. The doc said she should be free to go tomorrow." Happy answered, wary of Jax's motives.

"I'm not gonna try to convince you to stay." Jax said, rolling his eyes. "I'm pretty clear on how you feel about Charming, and I sympathize, I really do." Jax pulled the keys and a piece of paper from inside his cut and placed them on the nightstand. "Here. Keys to the truck and the title. The Prospect is arranging a trailer for your ride as we speak."

"Thanks." Happy repeated, and couldn't keep from running his hands over her to reassure himself that she was still safe.

"The coroner's office released Shark's body. We're gonna bury him tomorrow while everyone is still in town." Jax told him.

"Sorry, man, but I want to get on the road as early as they'll let us. It's a long ride up to Tacoma." Happy was shaking his head.

"No." They were both startled when Ace spoke up. She disentangled on one arm from the blanket and rubbed her right eye. "No, I want to go. It's my fault he's dead, Happy."

Happy leaned his head back against the pillows, and scrubbed his head roughly with his left hand. He knew that he stood no chance against her, but their last trip through the cemetery had come between them, setting him up to push her away.

"No, that's on me, baby." He sighed. "I pushed Shark away because I knew he wanted you. A smarter move would've been to use him as another line of protection, kept everyone safer. It kind of pisses me off that he turned out to be smarter than me."

"I need to go, big man." Ace kept pushing, and Happy gave in, just like he knew he would.

"The second I say it's time to go, we leave." He warned. "I'm not letting you land yourself right back in here. I want to go to Tacoma."

"We'll go the second you say so, I promise." Ace tilted her head back, a weak, sad smile on her face.

"Tacoma's ready to roll whenever you are, Killah." Kozik said. "Bowie really needs to get back, Maryanne's been holding everything down as best she can, but with barely half a crew, shit's falling through the cracks."

"We'll leave straight from the cemetery. If we park over by the West entrance, all of us should be able to get out quickly."

"I'll make sure the road's clear for you to get out." Jax assured them. "It's the least we can do."

**No Other Man Alive**

Dressed in her black funeral dress again, Ace tilted her face up to the sun as she sat in the stupid wheelchair, waiting for Happy to bring around the truck.

"Doing alright, sweetheart?" Tig asked, smoking behind her.

"Sun feels good." Ace answered. "Listen, Tig, I just want to thank you for everything. You held us both together. I won't forget that."

"Aaaah, it's no big deal." Tig shrugged off the praise, but he still ruffled her hair. "I'm just glad you're both clear of it."

Anything else either of them might have said was cut off by the sound of Tacoma's Harleys rolling up en masse with the truck, Happy's ride on the trailer behind. Tig flicked away the smoke, and put both hands out to Ace. Gripping his forearms, Ace got herself up, shocked by how weak she really was.

"Doing alright?" Tig asked, and she leaned heavily on his arm, nodding. He opened the door for her, and she looked in at Happy, a little panicked at whether she'd be able to make it in on her own. Happy slammed his palm against the wheel, irritated at his injured hand.

"You're gonna have to help her in, Tig." He said, resigned. Tig looked at him, then down at Ace. There was no way to get her in the truck without getting good and personal.

"You helped me shower, Tig, just get me in the truck." Ace hissed.

"You did what?" Happy shouted, hand going to door handle as Tig lifted her into the truck with one hand under her arm and the other on her hip.

"Easy, big man." Ace lay a steadying hand on his right arm. "It was before I went to the hospital, it was the only way to make sure they couldn't lift any DNA off of me. Tig helped me because I asked him to, to keep _you _safe."

"I didn't even look, I swear." Tig put both his hands up in surrender, then closed the door behind Ace. Happy just snarled in response, as Tig took off in the direction of his ride.

"It really wasn't that serious." Ace told him as he pulled out behind Bowie's crew, Tig following behind.

**No Other Man Alive**

"Come on, we're leaving." Happy got his good arm around her waist, careful to keep his hand high enough not to bother her stapled wound. "You look like you might puke."

"No, I'm just tired." Ace answered, but she did feel a little nauseous, mostly due to all the stares she'd been getting through the whole ordeal. "Does everyone know what happened to me?"

"Probably." Happy admitted, catching Bowie's eye and making a twirling motion with his casted hand. Apparently it got the message across well enough because Tacoma started peeling away from the crowd, to cross the cemetery. "Your phone was used to send out those pictures. They were sent to every contact in your phone book, which meant that the charter Presidents all got it."

At that, Ace pressed a hand to her staples and leaned over, dry heaving. Happy kept ahold of her as best he could with one arm, but looked around desperately for someone to help. The truck was a long way off, and there was pretty much no chance he'd be able to get her there alone.

"I knew this was a bad fucking idea." Happy muttered.

"I'm fine." Ace spat into the grass, and straightened up, eyeing the approaching Sons with resignation. "One of these days I'd really like to find some dignity."

"I got her, Killah." Kozik jogged over, and after Happy nodded permission, scooped Ace up, careful to tuck the skirt of her dress under her. "Wow, you need a cheeseburger or three, Ace High."

"Right. Well this isn't humiliating at all." Ace commented, but rested her cheek against Kozik's cut, the familiar smell of leather a balm to her wounded pride. "Get me out of here, please."

"Come on." Happy growled. "The sooner we get out of Charming, the better."

The knot of Sons followed Kozik across the grass to where they had set up. Happy walked on Kozik's left, and Tig was on his right, the rest of the Tacoma a loose wave behind them.

"This fucking cast is bullshit." Happy muttered to no one in particular.

"Chill out, brother." Kozik answered. "Its a few weeks, and we'll get you back to normal. How many times has this club leaned on you for help? Now it's time to lean back. It's the whole reason any of us joined a club, so that we'd never be alone, so quit fighting us."

Happy opened the door and waited while Kozik slid her onto the seat. "Good?" He asked her, and Ace smiled and squeezed his hand.

"Thanks, Koz." She answered, and let him go as Happy crowded him out and shut her door. The two of them double checked the trailer before Kozik headed to mount up.

"Are you sure you're up to this drive?" Happy asked her, reaching awkwardly across the wheel to start the truck and put it in drive. She turned sideways, putting her back to the door.

"Yeah. I want out of here. Take me out of here." She told him.

"Let's go." Happy answered her, and leaned over to draw her legs across his lap, grateful for the late model truck's bench seat.

Ace looked between the edge of seat and the door out the back window, she could see Tig and Lorca, and a few other Tacoma Sons. More importantly, she could see Charming falling behind them. When they passed the Welcome to Charming sign, she turned her eyes back to Happy.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer-I don't own the rights to the Sons of Anarchy. I do, however, own No Other Man Alive, Ace, Slick, Shark, Starla, and all my other OCs. And since Mr. Sutter killed off Kozik in season four, I'm claiming him, too.**

It took until they were somewhere in Oregon, and after they'd all stopped to eat for Happy to ask the question he'd been mulling over he'd first lain eyes on the damage done to Ace's face. She'd curled up to him for this leg, her bruised left cheek on his chest, his chin resting on top of her head. He knew that part of his courage came from the darkening sky and the fact that he couldn't see her face in this position.

"How much of your face was from me?" Happy grunted into the silent cab. He felt Ace shift under his arm, but he tightened his hold on her, and she stilled.

"I'm not totally sure, everything happened pretty quickly after that." Ace answered, but he knew she was avoiding the question.

"Best guess."

"I know you split my lip. There might have been a bruise on my cheek, but the rest happened…later." She finally admitted, after a minute of silence. Happy cleared his throat loudly.

"I, uh, I told you that wouldn't happen."

"Yep. More than once." She agreed, and he was vaguely proud that she was herself enough to not let him off the hook.

"It won't happen again." He said, kissing the top of her head. "I swear."

"Why should I believe that?" Ace asked him, and this time when she pushed against his arm, he forced himself to let her go. She didn't move far, but she sat cross-legged facing him, which put a little distance between them. She let him rest his cast across her lap, though, and he rubbed her knee with his thumb.

"Because I mean it. It shouldn't've happened the first time."

"So why did it?" She shot back, and he smiled, her feistiness felt right to him.

"I fucked up the job Tig and I were on. It got done, so it shouldn't have been a big fucking deal, but Tig let it slip and my priorities were called into question. I was pissed off at myself, and since everyone else was blaming it on you, I guess I was trying to, too. I got pretty 'faced on Jack."

"And?"

"And I pushed back against everything the guys were saying, and then you showed up, and I was so goddamn pissed at everything, and shitty drunk, it all happened before I knew what the fuck I was doing. I am sorry it happened, Ace." Happy leaned over, and kissed her cheekbone and then her split top lip.

"I know." She whispered, and she turned away from him, studying the formation in front of the truck.

"I won't let it happen again." He told her, glancing across the cab to see her face. "Do you believe me?"

"No." Her voice was matter-of-fact and without animosity, and hit him like a fist to the gut. "And next time, I swear to God, I will shoot you. Do you believe me?"

"Yeah." Happy barked a laugh. "I really fucking do."

Ace smiled weakly, then dug in the white paper pharmacy bag for her painkillers and dry swallowed two. She brushed his casted hand off of her knee, and turned to face the window, tucking her feet under her. She could see him studying her in the reflection on the window, but closed her eyes, locking him out.

It was another hour before either of them spoke again. Happy was growing more claustrophobic by the minute, and even having the window rolled all the way down wasn't helping. He couldn't remember the last time he'd spent this much time in a cage. Ace hadn't moved since she'd shut him out, but he didn't think she was asleep, though.

Happy had been zoning out to the sound of the wind and the monotony of the taillights ahead of him when he thought he heard Ace sniff. His head shot around, but she didn't seem to have moved. Turning his eyes back to the road, he kept his head cocked in her direction, listening hard. When it came again, he inwardly cursed his useless hand and tried to lean over to reach her, but she'd tucked herself so far into the door that he couldn't.

"Hey." Happy broke the silence. "Come here."

He wasn't sure she was going to budge, the set of her shoulders was rigid. She very slowly uncurled herself, though, and he saw her wipe her eyes before she lay back across the seat. Her cheek rested on his leg, so that she faced the back of the seat. He reached awkwardly across his body to brush her hair back from her face.

"You hurtin'?" Happy asked when she wasn't forthcoming with any information on what was doing.

"Not terrible." She answered readily enough, but she was still trembling. He waited for her to elaborate, but it was apparent that she wasn't going to.

"You gonna tell me what's wrong?" He pushed.

"You really don't want to hear it." Ace warned, and closed her eyes. Happy was really starting to get tired of being shut down.

"Yeah, there's a lot of shit that I really don't want to deal with, but we've got a long fucking ride, so you may as well let me in that pretty little head of yours." Hap looked down at her right when she rolled to look up at him, all big eyed. He shifted a little in his seat, certain that catching wood right now wouldn't help loosen her lips. Shit, that didn't help either.

"I could at least understand it if you'd fucked around after everything happened. You've made it more than clear how you feel about being the only man in my pussy." She started, and then sat back up. Happy took a deep breath, blowing it out his nose, trying not to get too pissed at the distance she kept putting between them. He looked down and realized that Jax's fucking truck needed gas again, so he flashed his lights twice so Bowie would know to stop.

"I'm not exactly fucking thrilled that someone else was inside you, but I'll put that to rights soon enough." Happy cranked down on the wheel with his one hand, jaw tight. Ace flipped a hand in the air, waving his retribution off.

"I'm not worried about that." She said, and he shot her a confused look, not sure where she was going with this, then turned his attention back to following Bowie's crew down into the truck stop. "You told me I'd never have to face some little bitch telling me she'd had you, and then I had to see one with your dick in her mouth."

"You weren't supposed to be there." He answered absentmindedly as he put the truck in park and killed the engine, scanning the pavement for issues. Happy looked up at the sound of her door, just in time to see it get slammed as she took off for the truck stop. He didn't like her taking off like that, especially in that dress with those bitch heels, and her hair covering all her ink.

"Hey! That's not what I fucking meant." He yelled, climbing down from the cab.

"We should probably hurry, brother. Northern Oregon is still War Boy territory and we're not over the border, yet." Lorca said, swiping his own credit card to expedite the process. Happy couldn't let another man pump his gas, though, so he took over.

"You guys on alright terms with the War Boys?" Happy asked, turning to take in more of the lot.

"Neutral, I guess. We brawl a lot, but there's no war." Lorca answered. Happy's throat closed up as soon as he spotted three Harleys parked deep in the shadows on the far side of the truck stop.

"_Fuck." _He abandoned the gas and the truck and took off toward the door. Tig, Kozik, and Lorca all followed.

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace was fuming as she locked the Ladies Room door to prevent Happy from following her in if he had a mind to. When she was finished in the bathroom, she washed her hands, and pulled her dress up to get a look at the staples in her side. She could hear men's voices coming out of the door opposite the Ladies Room, and figured that if she didn't quit stalling one of the Sons was going to try to break down the door. Bitch face in place, she flung the door open and stepped out into a group of three men in cuts.

"Well hey there, sugar." One of them leaned an arm across the little hallway, blocking her progress. She looked up at him impassively and waited.

"Your old man do that to your face?" Another one asked her, and his tone was genuinely concerned.

"I'm fine." Ace answered coldly, and gathered her hair up into a messy knot on her head, flashing her ink intentionally. It got the reaction she was hoping for, the arm in front of her dropped and she sailed past them, hoping to brazen it out until she could get out the front door, but they followed her.

"You belong to the Tacoma Killer?" The voice was incredulous. "He did this to your face."

"Yes I do, and no he didn't." Ace shot over her shoulder, pushing through the door, one hand against the cut in her side. She saw Happy and the rest of Tacoma coming toward her, and if she could have broken into a run, she would have. Ace settled for keeping her head high, despite the pack following her and the one approaching.

"Happy!" One of the War Boys yelled. "You got a nice, tight little old lady, huh?"

"Get in the truck." Happy ordered her, cracking his neck. Tig stepped in behind her, herding her away.

"You always talk to her like that?" Another one called, and the three War Boys laughed. "Hey sweetheart, I'll at least say please!"

"Is she mouthy? Bet that's why you broke your hand on her face."

"Don't you fucking talk to her. Not gonna happen, bro." Happy took another step toward the War Boys, and the mood changed dangerously.

"Bet I could do more than talk to her, _bro._"

With a roar, Happy dropped his shoulder and rushed the group, knocking the last one flat on his back.

"Left hand! Left hand!" Kozik yelled as he threw himself into the fray, and Happy did everything he could to obey.

The brawl was fast and bloody, the Sons' greater numbers giving them an easy advantage. Tig was the one who finally came and pulled Happy off of the War Boy.

"Come on, Killah, I think he's had enough." Tig said, catching Happy under his arms and hauling him upright. Happy rocked back and kicked the man's side before shaking Tig off and strutting back to the truck, pulling his bloody shirt over his head with one hand.

When Happy reached the truck, he ripped open the passenger door, and launched himself onto the truck's running boards, hanging onto the roof with his bloody left hand. He kissed her hard for the first time since he'd left her in that motel room, and she didn't resist, even met him halfway, opening her mouth to him. He broke it off and jumped down, shutting her in.

"I've done some stupid shit." He growled, getting in and getting the truck in drive. The tires squealed as he punched it, falling into the formation, watching in the rearview to make sure the rest of the Tacoma brothers made it safely out. "That slut probably tops the list. It never happened before and it won't happen again. It ain't worth it. You want to be pissed off at me, then be pissed, I can take it, but quit shutting me out."

"Never again?" Ace asked. "Not just where it can bite you in the ass?"

"Never again. That's the deal. Now come here." He held his right arm out, and waited while she studied him. Finally she slid herself across the seat, and pressed herself into his side, resting her face against his bare chest. He wrapped his arm around her neck, pulling her even closer and kissed the top of her head. "We'll find the other side of this shit, you hear?"

"Yeah." Ace tilted her face up to him and let him kiss her again. "Feel better?"

"Yeah." He laughed for the second time. "I really fucking do."

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer-I'm still not the creator and executive producer of the Sons of Anarchy, but I do own No Other Man Alive, my OCs, and an incredible husband. Who is disappointed that no one said hi to him.**

It was well after midnight when they rolled into the Tacoma warehouse parking lot. A few old ladies were waiting, but it was a very subdued scene. Happy was reluctant to wake Ace, but couldn't see a way around it. He definitely couldn't manage her up all the stairs, and he'd had more than enough of watching his brothers handle her.

"Baby, we're here." He murmured, trying to bring her around slowly. "Wake up, Ace."

He watched her blink slowly, looking around. She wrinkled her nose and winced, stretching.

"Ow." She muttered, and probed her cheek tentatively.

"Leave it alone." Happy told her, pushing her hand away.

"Yes, doctor." She laughed, her voice still rough from sleeping.

"Come on, let's get to bed, I'm fucking beat." Happy nudged her toward her door, and pulled their two small duffels from behind the seat. He came around to the passenger door and took her shoes off, tossing them back into the truck. Ace let him lift her down from the running boards, holding onto his shoulder for balance.

"Thanks, big man." Ace leaned against him, sore from the long ride. She stiffened a little when she saw Cat moving to intercept them on their way to the stairs.

"Hey, honey, how are you feeling? Do you need anything?" Cat started in, holding onto Bowie's arm.

"Just some sleep. " Ace smiled thinly, relieved when Happy steered them past without stopping.

"You first, take it as slow as you need to." He told her, following closely behind her, ready to catch her if she lost her balance. She made it up in better time than he'd anticipated, although he didn't like the shade of pale that she'd turned.

"You're not gonna pass out are you?" He asked her, tucking her back under his arm, where he could at least slow her descent if she did.

"Nah, quit coddling her, Ace is tough." Tig said, dropping his bag on the bar.

"Thanks, Tig." Ace smiled at him.

"Who said that was a compliment?" Tig shot back as they disappeared into the hallway.

Ace felt totally surreal being back in the Tacoma clubhouse. The day felt like it had been eons long. Happy let her into their room, dropping their bags on the dresser.

"I'll be back in a minute." Happy told her. "I'm going to go make sure my ride gets off of the trailer alright."

"Oh, alright." Ace sat down on the bed, and watched as Happy took off back down the hallway. She got up and locked the door behind him. She put her back to the door and looked around the room, completely familiar to her. The only thing changed in it, was her. Sighing, she pulled one of Happy's t-shirts from the drawer and took it with her into the little bathroom. Stripping of the dress, she got a good look at herself in the mirror. The bruises were starting to go yellow around the edges, but it would probably be another week or more before they really faded. She started the water in the tub, then decided that she'd be better off with the door shut, since the glass didn't offer much privacy.

Ace stepped into the water and then reached over to turn it hotter. The water stung a little, but it had the added bonus of steaming up the bathroom, turning the glass opaque. She lay all the way back, letting the water come up over her face. Gasping, she surfaced and curled forward, wrapping her arms around her knees. The bathroom door opened, but she didn't look up, didn't move. She heard his boots hit the floor, and finally turned her cheek so she could watch him. She looked back over her shoulder as Happy opened the glass, leaning in, looking down at her. He was careful to keep his eyes on hers, but she found herself huddling tighter.

"Let me in?" It was half question, half order, but she moved forward anyway, making room. He looked at her for another moment before his hand went to his belt, fumbling it open. Ace knew that she should help, but couldn't make her arms unwrap. Instead of watching him struggle, she put her forehead back down on her arms. She felt him get into the water behind her, sitting awkwardly, his right arm propped up out of the water.

"Ok?" Happy asked, sliding his left palm up her back, watching her skin break out in gooseflesh. He gathered her hair, brushing it forward over her shoulder as best he could. His left arm slid under hers, and she let him wrap his arm around her, drawing her back, closer to him. He skimmed his nose up her spine, and rested his forehead against her wet back.

"I don't feel like me, anymore." Ace said, her face still buried in her arms.

"You're still the same person. Shit that happens to you, it isn't who you are." He told her, kissing the ink across her back. "You're the same to me as you were when I first patched in. We got a lot of history, you and me."

"I don't even know who I am." She sighed, and let her head fall back onto Happy's shoulder, so his face was close to hers. He brought his arm up across her chest, bringing her even closer.

"I do." He answered, resting his cheek on top of her head. "Come on, you need to get some sleep."

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace came awake completely, skin covered in a cold sweat. She scrambled away from the hand that had insinuated itself up the oversized t-shirt. Disoriented, she slid off the edge of the bed, falling heavily on her hip.

"Ow." Ace huffed under her breath, and pushed herself up far enough to see that Happy hadn't budged. Glancing at the clock she saw that it was barely past four in the morning, which meant that she'd gotten less than three hours of sleep. Not exactly stellar, considering she was wide awake now. She lay back on the wood floorboards, both hands pressed to her chest, trying to slow her heartrate. When her breathing finally returned to normal, Ace pulled herself off of the floor, and dug around in her bag blindly until she found her jeans.

Fully dressed, Ace curled up in a chair with her sketchbook. She opened it to a blank page, but couldn't bring herself to make a mark on it. Everything she kept seeing in her head was from _that day_ and she really had no interest in putting that down on paper for posterity. Happy had sprawled out on his back, and her hands ached to draw him, but she couldn't make herself reach for the pencil. Instead she flipped back through other drawings she'd done, pieces she wanted to put on him, filling in his blank spaces like a puzzle, or drawings of him, mostly asleep because awake he hardly ever sat still long enough for her to catch him.

Ace moved all the way back to the first few pages of her sketchbook. The drawings here were all over 6 months old, before she knew that her first husband wasn't the man she'd always thought him to be. Some of them were of him, in uniform and out, and it shamed her a little that even after she'd invested over a decade in her marriage, he'd always been a shadow of the man she had now. Really, she should have known that they were on different paths when he'd never let her ink him.

Sighing, Ace closed the book, and set it aside. She could hear some of the Tacoma Sons moving around, getting ready for the day. It wasn't quite light out, but Bowie's crews were already moving about. With another glance at Happy, Ace got up and crept to the window, watching as the departing Sons smoked in the parking lot and either mounted up or crowded into one of Bowie's fleet of trucks. When the last of them had left, Ace turned away from the window, and paced the confines of the room quietly. She trailed her fingers over the very few things Happy left on the dresser, wondering how long before her stuff started driving him insane.

"Get back in bed." His voice was a hard croak, painful to listen to, and she looked back at him over her shoulder.

"I can't sleep." She smiled, a little weakly. Happy groaned and went to scrub his face with his hands, then remembered his cast and put his useless hand down. "Go back to sleep, I'll be fine."

"I'm not gonna sleep while you prowl around. You can either get back in bed, or I'm getting up." He pushed up on an elbow, but Ace waved him down. She popped the button on her jeans and slid them down, very aware of his eyes on her. She started to go back around to the empty side of the bed, but he grunted, so she went to him. He pulled her down and rolled her underneath him. "I don't like when you're not in my bed."

"Sorry." Ace breathed, trying to gauge whether her shortness of breath was fear or want. He kissed her, both of their eyes open in the semi-darkness. When she didn't pull away or protest, he deepened the embrace, sliding a tentative hand up her leg. Ace started to go rigid underneath him and he backed off.

"I'm not trying anything, I just miss touching you. You've never been scared of me before." Happy knew he was manipulating her a little, but he didn't think that never touching her again was the answer to whatever headspace she was in, and the longer they waited, the bigger this shit got between them.

"I'm not scared of _you."_ She said, pulling him back down, and sliding his hand back up to where he'd stopped.

"So what's got you spooked?" He asked, pushing the t-shirt up far enough that he could see his mark all over her stomach. It would be interesting to see how she was going to feel about him adding to it.

"I can't turn my brain off, too much noise. I'm afraid I won't, I don't know, like fucking anymore." Ace squeezed her eyes shut in frustration; his hand on her wasn't nearly as upsetting as the damn liar tattoo. She concentrated on breathing slowly, letting him resume kissing her.

"So maybe this'll look a little different now." Happy murmured against her mouth. "But I'm pretty sure I can convince you that you still like to fuck."

Ace rolled her eyes at his cockiness, but tried to give into him anyway. She ran her hands up over his shoulders and to the back of his neck, deepening the kiss. Happy didn't move to try anything, just stroked the skin he could reach and kissing her. After a while, leaning on his casted forearm started to hurt, so he just kissed her forehead and lay back next to her. Ace yawned and curled into him, and he held her very carefully against him.

"Go back to sleep." Happy ordered her, shifting her to reach his cigarettes and ashtray and lighting up.

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace sat straight up in the bed, slapping a hand over her own mouth as soon as she figured out that she was the one screaming. Her stomach rolled alarmingly, and she scrambled for the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before vomiting. Rinsing her mouth, she stared at herself in the mirror, willing her body to catch up to reality. When her breathing slowed, Ace reached for her toothbrush, convinced that she could still taste Rivera's sweat and cum in her throat, even though she knew that was impossible. She brushed her teeth until her gums bled, and then threw the toothbrush into the sink.

Ace backed out of the bathroom and smiled weakly when she saw that Happy had made a point of folding her jeans instead of leaving them on the floor. Pulling them on, she dug through Happy's drawers until she found one of the long sleeved thermals he wore under t-shirts, and put that on, too. The sleeves were so long that she was sure she looked absurd, but she didn't figure that mattered much, as she had no intentions of going anywhere.

Having finished dressing, Ace pushed aside the curtains, and smiled when her guess that Happy would be outside proved to be right. He was on the ground next to his Harley, tools scattered around him. Tig was with him, leaning against his own ride. Ace briefly considered going out to join them, but it seemed like too much work, so she just stayed put, watching them. It was a pleasant way to pass the time, half out of it on painkillers, being the silent observer. When Tig and Happy headed back in the direction of the clubhouse stairs, Ace curled back up on the bed. She'd managed to drift halfway back to sleep when Happy's key scraped in the lock.

"Hey sleepyhead." Happy said, smiling widely, leaving the door cracked open behind him. "You were up at some point, since you're dressed."

"Yeah, I was up for a while. Just stayed here." Ace held her arms out to him, and Happy glanced over his shoulder to the hallway, then rolled over her, bringing her on top of him.

"Did you eat anything?" He asked, letting her burrow into his neck.

"No, I just got dressed and watched you and Tig for a while and then these fucking drugs made me sleepy." Ace shrugged.

"You have to eat, it's almost five." Happy picked her head up and forced her to look at him. "You can't take that shit on an empty stomach, no wonder you're half passed out all the fucking time."

"Sorry. Not really hungry."

"Come on, let's get some food." Happy sat up, and Ace held him around his neck to keep from falling.

"Do we have to?" She asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Yeah, you need to fucking eat, Ace." Happy was starting to lose patience. "Come on, I'll take you to the best Italian in Washington."

"You want to actually go out somewhere?" Ace asked incredulously. "After what happened last night?"

"This is my fucking city, no one's gonna hassle you about your face here. Come on." Happy dumped her on her feet and grabbed her boots, handing them to her. Ace pulled them on reluctantly, watching as Happy struggled to get his shoulder holster on one handed, finally succeeding and zipping a hoodie over it. He pulled her to her feet and wrapped both his arms around her shoulders. "Come on, Ace, let me show you the rest of Tacoma."

"Yeah." Ace smiled up at him, trying to hide her trepidation. "Let's go."

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer-Can we talk about how far away September is? No? OK, well I'm not Kurt Sutter. But I do own NOMA, my OCs, and a lot of supportive readers. Well I don't OWN you guys, that would be illegal, but you get the picture.**

"Donut said this guy's the best, it'll be fine." Happy leaned into the passenger side of the truck, rubbing his hand up Ace's leg. "Come on."

"I don't see why he couldn't just take my stitches out, he did my staples last week." Ace grumbled, letting Happy pull her down from the truck.

"Because he's a paramedic, not a fuckin doc, and your eye needs to get checked out." He dropped his arm across her shoulders, pushing her toward the medical building's doors.

"It's fine. I can see, it hardly hurts, what else is there?" Ace tried pouting, but the only reaction she got was Happy laughing at her.

"Quit being such a pussy, this is nothing." He chided her, but stopped and turned her to him anyway. Burying his hand in her hair, he drew her face up and kissed her, not giving a fuck about any of the people streaming around them. When she gave in and leaned against him, Happy took the opening and backed her into an elevator, laughing when she punched him in the stomach.

**No Other Man Alive**

Having been x-rayed, prodded, and un-stitched, Ace lay back on the exam table as the doctor pressed gauze to stop the little pinpricks of blood that welled up. From the corner of her eye, she could see Happy holding up the wall, arms crossed over his chest, scowling. It may have been true that no one was going to hassle Ace in any of Happy's old haunts, but here in a medical building the combination of his right hand cast and her left eye injury had led to all kinds of dirty looks thrown his way.

"Everything looks like it's healing right on schedule, Miss Perez." The doctor murmured, removing the gauze and eyeing the wound critically.

"Missus." Happy corrected gruffly. The doctor glanced back at him with a raised eyebrow, and Happy rolled his eyes.

"Bruising should subside within the week, and as long as there are no other problems, you're all set." The doctor rolled his stool back and tossed his gloves in the trash. He held his hand out to Happy for a handshake, but Happy only glared at him, not moving an inch. The doctor retreated from the room without another word.

"I'm buying you a fucking ring." Happy told her, giving her a hand up.

"No, thanks." Ace shrugged, leading the way back out of the office.

"What do ya mean 'No, thanks'?" Happy asked, following her into the elevator. "That wasn't really a question, Ace."

"You don't wear one." Ace pointed out, bitch brow raised, and Happy looked down at her, mouth open in surprise.

"Really? You're gonna go there?" He asked. "I told you not to expect me to wear a fucking ring."

"I never asked you to." Ace answered, walking backwards through the parking lot, hands twisted in the fabric of his hoodie. She bit her lip, enjoying goading him, and wasn't even surprised when he backed her into the side of the truck, pinning her there.

"How is everything else feeling?" Happy asked her, changing the subject entirely. His left hand slid straight down her stomach, leaving no illusions what he was asking about, though he stopped short of actually groping her in public.

"A little sore, but not bad." Ace answered, a little mesmerized by his dark gaze. So much of his focus on her lately had been clinical, she missed being looked at like a woman. He dropped his head so that his mouth was right next to her ear.

"Let's get back, yeah?" Happy breathed, and Ace felt her skin break out in gooseflesh. She shivered, and shoved him playfully when he grinned, pleased with himself. "I've got Church in an hour."

Ace felt absurdly disappointed at that, climbing into the truck when he opened the door. She watched him walk around the front, asking herself if she really thought she might be ready to step off that bridge with him. He'd been steadily pushing her boundaries, spending time each day getting her semi naked and running his hands over her. He hadn't really tried anything, beyond an occasional boob grope after he'd fallen asleep, but she could tell that his patience was wearing thin.

"What's with the face?" He asked her, starting up the truck. "Fuck, I won't miss this thing when I can ride again."

"Just trying to figure out what we're doing, that's all." Ace replied, watching him as he navigated the streets.

"We're going to go back to Tacoma, I'm going to Church, and then I plan on getting you a little bit drunk and a lot naked. Sound good?" He grinned, and she couldn't help smiling back.

"I don't know." She admitted.

"Get outta your head, Ace." He warned her, still smiling.

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace had come out to the clubhouse for a short time while the guys were in the Chapel, but the scrutiny from Tacoma's old lady brigade proved to be too much, and she quickly retreated back to the room she shared with Happy. The overly concerned fawning had just made her feel even more like an invalid, even though she was arguably well on the mend. Ace had been down to see Maryanne a few times, but other than that, she'd managed to stay clear of the old ladies. She'd never figured out how to peacefully coexist with other women. In Bakersfield, she'd been on the outside due to her half Irish heritage, and from there, she joined the boys club of tattooing, so she hasn't really needed to learn the ins and outs of girls in groups. One or two, and she was alright, but after that, they just made her twitchy.

"Knock knock." Ace's stomach dropped at the sound of Cat pushing her way into the room. She sat up, though, she wasn't about to deny the president's old lady.

"Hi, Cat, what's up?" She asked, sitting cross legged on the bed.

"Just wanted to check on you, make sure you were doing alright." Cat sat next to her, and cupped her cheek, getting a good look at her face. "Face seems to be healing up pretty well."

"Yeah, not bad. Happy will be relieved when people stop giving him the stink eye when they see it." Ace pulled back a little, enough to get Cat to drop her hand.

"Poor Hap." Cat smiled, chuckling. Ace just shot her a weird look, not sure what was funny about Happy being uncomfortable with taking the heat for her injury. Cat tucked a strand of hair back behind Ace's ear. "Listen, honey, what happened to you? Really messed up. I know a good head doctor if you want her number."

"Uh, thanks, but I'm good. Therapy isn't really my style." Ace pushed the sleeves of Happy's thermal back up over her hands.

"OK, well if you change your mind, let me know. Bowie and I are really thrilled that y'all decided to come here. We always knew Hap would come back to Tacoma." Cat leaned forward and squeezed Ace's knee familiarly.

"Hey. Wondered where you disappeared to." Ace was relieved when Happy came through the door. "Bowie's looking for you, Cat."

Cat hugged Ace tightly, and headed back toward the clubhouse. She paused to hug Happy on the way out, wrapping her arms around his neck. Ace watched Happy accept the embrace, her head tilted to the side, still trying to figure out what their relationship really was. Happy closed the door behind her, and Ace leaned back on her hands, a little wary.

"Did you tell her we were going to stay here permanently?" Ace asked him suspiciously, and was relieved when he looked surprised.

"No. Did she say I did?" He asked, leaning back against the door.

"Not exactly, just sort of implied that you'd committed to it."

"Can't commit to anything until I can ride again." Happy held his cast up as evidence. "But I wouldn't do that without at least telling you first."

"OK." Ace smiled, pleased to hear that she'd rate above Cat at least on the information ladder.

"You coming back out?" Happy asked her. "I told you I wanted to get you a little bit drunk tonight."

"Are you going to ditch me with the scary girl herd?" Ace asked, making a face.

"No, you can chill with me. Watch some fights." Happy held his hand out, and Ace pushed off of the bed.

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace sat on the bench between Happy's knees, watching Tacoma's Sons beating on each other. He'd kept her glass topped off, so she wasn't really sure how much she'd consumed. She did know that Happy wasn't drinking at all, despite the bottle at his hand.

"How ya doing, baby?" Happy nudged her with his heel, looking down at her. Ace rolled her head back into his lap, and smiled. "Yeah, you're feeling good."

Ace pouted a little as Happy took the glass out of her hand. He downed the last of the Jameson and set it aside. He let his hand wander, stroking her crazy mass of curls, rubbing down to her collar bone, sliding under the collar and down across the tops of her breasts. She didn't shy away, just stayed put, watching him.

"Come on, let's go." Happy slid her off the bench and hopped down next to her. She was still pretty steady on her feet, just hopefully tipsy enough to get out of her own head. He tucked her under his right arm, and felt her hand slide up under his shirt, holding onto his belt. He chuckled a little at her and kissed her. He followed her up the stairs, clocking her stride, and taking a moment to check out her ass, which was still pretty great, even though she'd been steadily dropping pounds over the last couple weeks.

She slowed a little bit as they weaved through the crowd in the clubhouse, but he kept pushing through. There were the usual hold ups with brothers wanting to talk, but he shook his head anytime someone tried to actually halt their progress. He knew he had Ace in a really good place, and didn't want to risk letting her sober up at all. He turned her to face him when they got to the hallway, kissing her while walking her backwards. The cast on his hand pissed him off for the billionth time, because he really wanted to pick her up and wrap her legs around him, but knew he couldn't manage it.

"Still good, baby?" He asked, kicking their door shut, and locking it.

"I think so." She hummed against his mouth, and he immediately started to regret his plan not to let her touch him. He raised a brow and slid his hands under the thermal she'd snagged from one of his drawers, she lifted her hands up and he peeled the shirt off and tossed it onto the dresser. He groaned at all the exposed skin, more of her tits than he'd gotten to see in a while. She'd been sleeping weird, up sometimes in the middle of the night, and sleeping late during the day, and making a point to get changed when she knew he'd be out for a stretch. He knew she expected him to go straight for her tits, and he was sorely tempted, but he just continued his assault on her mouth, moving her back toward the bed.

"Eyes open." Happy told her, when she hit the edge of the bed. Ace boosted herself up on the edge, and Happy pulled her boots off one by one, not taking his eyes off of her. She leaned back on her elbows, eyes wide as he unzipped the hoodie and stripped off his holster. He checked her expression again, then pulled his shirt off, too. Getting any more naked would be a bad fucking idea, he only had so much will power, and what he already had planned was going to take all of it.

Happy went around and lay down on his back, waiting for Ace to come to him. She did, moving with all the coordination of the slightly drunk, cozying up to his side, curling her leg around his. He pulled her on top of him, willing himself not to push her down on his dick. He enjoyed watching her snake her hand across his chest, tracing little bits of ink. She flipped her hair back over her shoulders, and returned her attention to his face, licking her lips. He pulled her face back to his, forcing her lips open and losing himself in the taste of her.

"Hey." He pulled back, getting her attention, and rolled her onto her back. "This is all about you, baby. Let me make you feel good."

Breathing hard, Ace nodded, and watched as Happy peeled the jeans down her legs. He sat back on his heels, rubbing his hand up and down the inside of her legs, waiting for her to relax again and stop trembling.

"Eyes open." He reminded her, when she let her eyes fall shut, and she immediately obeyed. "Good girl."

Happy pulled her legs up over his spread knees, and skipped up over the miniscule black booty shorts and spread his palm over the tight skin of her stomach, easily spanning the distance between her hipbones.

"You need to eat more." He told her, sliding his hand just to the bottom of her breasts, barely grazing them, then stroking back down. She started to tense up, her breathing getting short, so he backed off, rubbing her knee. She started to shake her head, and push an elbow under her to sit up.

"Hey. This ain't a big thing." Happy leaned over her and went back to kissing her, cutting off any self deprecating comments she'd been about to make. He slid down, resting his chin on her chest, and grinned when she finally opened her eyes again. He brushed his face across the tops of her tits, and licked his way between them when she arched into him. "That's right, Ace."

Happy popped the clasp of her bra free, but left it where it was, going back to work on the sensitive skin on her neck and shoulder. He was pretty pleased with the way she was responding so far, it was worlds apart from the way she had been, but so far she hadn't flipped out on him, even seemed to be enjoying the attention.

"You still good, girl?" He checked in, grazing his teeth along her neck.

"Mmm, yeah." Ace answered, and pulled his mouth back to hers. He hitched her knee higher on his hip, and felt more than heard her moan. It probably would have been a smarter move to have rubbed one out before starting on her, because his dick was painfully hard. But fuck, it felt good having her rubbing on him again. She managed to surprise him when she started to wiggle out of the bra on her own. Propping himself up on his right elbow, he drew the fabric off of her, but kept his eyes on hers. He loved the way her tits felt pressed against his chest. Moving slowly, he bent his head to her breasts, curling his tongue around one of her hard, perfect nipples before he closed his mouth on it. When he'd treated the other one to similar attention, Happy backed off of her again.

"Are you stopping?" Ace asked, pushing up on her elbows to watch him. He was sitting back on his heels, hand stroking over her stomach. He could see in his mind the additions he planned to make to her tattoo, but knew that she wasn't ready to hear it.

"Do you want me to stop?" He asked, knowing he'd be disappointed if she said yes.

"No, I'm alright."

Happy grinned at her, and let his hand drift further South, flirting with the edge of her panties. He barely touched her, just traced patterns across her spread thighs and over the scrap of fabric covering her pussy. She'd tensed up again at first, but the non threatening petting and stroking had her laying back against the pillows.

"Uh-uh, eyes open, baby." He reminded her. "It's just me and you, got it?"

Happy slid his hand up her leg and under her panties, continuing his easy exploration. It was all he could do to keep his eyes on hers, and not on the pretty picture his hand under her panties made. He withdrew his hand, and stuck his two middle fingers in his mouth, wetting them before sliding them back under the panties and down into her folds. He stayed clear of her slit, concentrating on rubbing slow circles on her clit.

"Feeling good, yet?" He asked her, nasty grin on his face, because he knew she was. It soothed his pride that she trusted him enough to do this, and he loved the look of her, spread out on the bed, hands fisted in the comforter. She reached for him, and he kept up his work on her while he leaned over her to kiss her again. "You gonna let me make you cum, baby?"

"I don't know if I can." She whispered against his mouth, but he shook his head and shushed her.

"Get out of your head. You don't have to do anything, just let me make you feel good." He told her, and slid his hand down enough to dip a finger in her. She was wet, and he thanked God and Jameson that this was working. He laid on his side, next to her, and she rolled to face him. He added a second finger to the first, using his thumb to continue the circles on her clit.

"Relax, baby." He told her, and bit her bottom lip. Her hand was gripping his hip just above the waistband, and she was alternately pulling him in and pushing him back. "God, you feel fucking perfect."

Happy rested his forehead on hers, drinking in the sight of her. Her eyelids were heavy with Jameson and the orgasm he was working on, but she kept her eyes on his. Ace was panting now, and starting to move back against his hand.

"Hap, oh…" She breathed, rocking her hips, and he could feel her getting even slicker.

"Yeah, that's right." He drawled, trying to ignore the effect that her saying his name had on his dick. He let her work herself on his hand, not wanting to break the spell when she was so close to cumming. Her lips were parted, and he couldn't resist shoving his tongue back into her mouth. She kissed him back desperately, then her breath caught and she gave in. He felt her cumming on his hand, and couldn't help the big cocky grin on his face.

"Good girl." Happy told her, and kissed her sweaty forehead. When she'd come all the way down, he drew his fingers out of her, and sucked them clean, keeping his eyes on hers. He pulled her closer, drawing her on top of him so he could wrap both arms around her.

"You're so perfect, baby." He murmured, stroking her hair and back. It wasn't really a surprise to him when she started crying silently into his neck, but he'd really hoped that wouldn't happen. Juggling her, he managed to pull the comforter out from under them and cover her with it. He figured it was at least a good sign that she clung to him instead of pulling away.

"Hey, what's going on in your head?" He asked her when the worst of it seemed to be past. She yawned hugely before answering.

"I don't know." She mumbled and he pulled back enough to see her face. Her eyes were closed and he could tell she was halfway asleep.

"Alright. Get some sleep, Ace." He let it go, staring at the ceiling, mind racing to seek out all the ways this could backfire on him in the morning.

"Hap?" Ace asked, voice slurred by sleep and whiskey.

"Yeah?"

"I love you, too." She said, eyes still closed.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	28. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer-I do not own the Sons of Anarchy, but I do own NOMA, my OCs, and I'm still claiming Kozik. You hear that, KJ? Mr. Kurt Sutter might have killed you off, but with me you'll live forever! OK enough nonsense, you guys don't even read these anyway.**

Happy ripped off the tape and plastic covering the godforsaken cast and tossed it in the trashcan. He wasn't even trying to be quiet, but then it didn't really matter because lately Ace had been sleeping more during the day than at night. He knew she'd been up the night before, her sketchbook and pencils were all over the chair. It didn't take him long to struggle into his clothes, he was getting used to managing one handed, although it still chafed his nerves every time he fumbled something, which happened on average, about a thousand times a day.

"Hey." Happy nudged Ace with a knee while pulling on his shoulder holster, and typically, she barely cracked an eye open. "I'm thinking about heading out, you gonna get up?"

"Mmph." Was the only answer he got before she pulled the covers over her face and turned her back to him. Happy shook his head and left her alone, experience had taught him that messing with her when she was sleeping didn't accomplish anything, other than to piss both of them off more. Instead, he went to pick up her shit, flipping through her book while he gathered up the pencils. There still wasn't anything new in it, and no signs that she'd ripped anything out, either, which made him wonder how she kept making such a mess if she wasn't doing anything.

Once he'd finished putting her stuff away, Happy went to the bathroom and started pulling out all her medication, so he could be sure she'd remember to take it whenever she got up. He'd been leaving it all in a little pile on the nightstand for the last couple days since he'd figured out that she wasn't exactly keeping to a schedule with it.

"Last chance…" Happy tried to coax her, pulling the blanket off of her face, but she pulled it right back up.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." He sighed, and snatched the keys off of the dresser, closing the door behind him.

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace was in the shower when she heard the door open. She'd really hoped to be out and dressed before he made it back from wherever he'd gone today.

"Hey." Happy came in and sat on the lid of the toilet. Ace opened the shower door far enough to lean out and kiss him.

"You smell like rain. Where'd you go?" Ace asked, returning to the time consuming task of dealing with her hair.

"Here and there. Drove an hour out to Bullet's place to shoot before I figured out that I couldn't shoot a big gun anyway." Happy leaned forward, elbows on his knees, flexing his fucked up hand as much as he could.

"You're halfway there, big man." Ace reminded him and held a hand out for a towel, which he passed to her.

"Did you remember to take your second set of pills today?" Happy asked her, pulling her in to stand between his legs, so he could lay his head against her stomach.

"Uh, I only took the first ones a few hours ago." Ace hedged, so he knew that she probably had only been up for an hour or so.

"Fuck, Ace, if I wanted a kid, I could've saved a shitload of money on condoms." He griped, and pushed her toward the room. "I guess that means you didn't eat, either."

"Sorry, Happy. I am trying." Ace called from the room where he hoped to Christ she was putting on real clothes. He scrubbed his face roughly and mentally checked his frustration with her.

"I know you are. Hurry up and get dressed, we'll go get dinner." He told her in a level tone.

**No Other Man Alive **

Happy waited until he was sure Ace was all the way asleep before he slid out from under her and off the bed. They'd been fooling around before she'd passed the hell out, but beyond a handjob in the shower a few days before, all their sack sessions had left him with a dangerous case of blue balls. He took care of his current hard on in the bathroom, with brutal efficiency, calling up the memory of their night in Phoenix to move things along.

It was the one thing he figured he mourned most in the aftermath of Ace's rape. He didn't think that any amount of time or TLC was going to bring back Ace's anything-you-want attitude. At this point, he was starting to doubt that he'd ever get his dick sucked again, which was a goddamn tragedy.

Having taken care of business, Happy crawled back into bed, pulling Ace on top of him, even though she'd curled herself into a weird little ball. He'd tried to keep her up as long as possible, hoping to get her to sleep at least part of the way through the night. It was pretty much driving him up a wall finding her path of destruction when he got up in the morning. Yawning, Happy pulled her hair up off of her back, and traced the letters of his name across her back until he finally fell asleep.

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace awoke with a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She looked around the room for any sign of Happy, but knew she wouldn't find him there; he'd been taking off more and more, fed up with her weird sleeping shit. Rolling to the edge of the bed, she hung her head over the side to check the time, and shot out of bed at the realization that she had less than an hour to get to her appointment with the gynecologist.

"Fuck, he could've at least made sure I was awake." She grumbled to herself, scooping her morning pills off the nightstand and dumping them into her mouth and twisting the cap on the water bottle. Shuddering, she choked down the cocktail on her way to the bathroom. She washed her face quickly with the cold water on full blast. The bruising on her eye was finally close to gone, just an angry slash of purple running down from the inside corner.

Scrambling back into the room, anxious to be ready before Happy came bursting in demanding to leave, Ace had to search for the jeans that she'd thought would still be thrown over the back of the chair. She finally found them folded up in the bottom drawer. A quick sniff check told her that whatever else Happy had been up to, laundry had come first. She searched through the drawers, but couldn't come up with any of Happy's thermals that she'd been wearing; their tight fit the only thing that came remotely close to not swallowing her whole. Cursing the clock, Ace pulled on one of her own tank tops and threw on her hoodie over it.

Snatching up the hobo bag that still had her ID and shit in it, Ace locked the door and pulled it shut behind her. The clubhouse was deserted, and she checked the clock over the bar to make sure she didn't have the time wrong. Nope. Maybe he was outside, waiting for her in the truck, trying to make a point.

Rain was coming down in sheets outside, and cursing colorfully in a mix of English and Spanish, Ace pulled the hood up, half running, half sliding down the stairs. She ducked under the overhang at the bottom and looked around the lot, but it was pretty obvious that the truck wasn't there.

"Looking for Hap?" Tig asked, from where he sat on one of the picnic tables, smoking.

"Yeah, he's supposed to be taking me to the doctor." Ace answered, and watched Tig and Kozik exchange a look. "What?"

"Don't look at me, man, I don't even have a bitch seat and I'm sure as shit not going out in this." Tig told Kozik, ignoring her entirely.

"Did you call him?" Kozik asked her, pushing off from his lean against the warehouse.

"I don't have a _phone._" She growled, realization dawning that he'd forgotten about her appointment and taken off for God knew where for the day. Ace sat down heavily on the bench near Tig's feet. "Well fuck."

"Come on, I have my car, I'll take you." Kozik sighed, pulling his keys out, he pointed at Tig before dashing out into the rain, Ace on his heels. "Call him; tell him to meet us there."

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace went quietly to pieces after the doctor left the room, fist shoved in her mouth to keep from screaming. She held all her clothes in her arms, but was curled too tight to actually manage getting any of them on, so she just stayed where she was, rocking until the storm passed. When the fit of hysterics was over, Ace blew out through her mouth, and slid off the table. She dressed quickly, and splashed her face with water, hoping to erase the evidence of how thoroughly she'd lost her shit.

Gripping the strap of her bag so tightly that her hand hurt, Ace let herself out of the exam room and walked as fast as she could toward the waiting room. Kozik sat in a pink chair, surrounded by women, looking so freaked out that Ace almost had to laugh. She probably would have if the disappointment at finding Kozik alone wasn't so acute.

"Come on." She called to him, not even pausing as she escaped from the office. Kozik was after her like a shot.

"Uh, is everything, you know, ok?" He asked awkwardly, following her onto the elevator.

"Fine." Ace answered curtly, turning to face him, and the SAA's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Shit, are you alright, Ace high?" Kozik asked her, looking completely unsure what he was supposed to do if she wasn't.

"I'm fine, Kozik. Where's Happy?" She rubbed at her face a little more, knowing that it wasn't going to help anyway.

"He forgot about your appointment." Kozik told her, and chuckled at the no-shit look Ace shot him. "He drove out to Bullet's place again, he said he'd meet us back at the clubhouse."

"Of course he did." Ace snarked, then started laughing, until she caught the hiccups, which made her laugh harder.

**No Other Man Alive**

Kozik pulled right up to overhang where Happy was sitting with Tig so that she wouldn't have to run through the rain. Happy was on his feet and opening her door before Kozik even had the car fully stopped. He pulled her out and up, and bent to look in at Kozik.

"Thanks, bro, I owe you one." He said before he shut the door. He tucked Ace in against his chest, casted arm around her shoulders, the other holding the back of her head. He kissed the top of her head.

"I'm sorry, I shoulda been there." He told her, and felt her shrug against his arm. It was written all over her face that she'd lost her shit at some point, and he felt like the world's biggest asshole for bailing on her.

"Its fine, whatever." Ace mumbled into the front of his hoodie.

"You wanna go find some food?" Happy asked her, tilting her head back so he could look her in the eye, but she just shook her head.

"No, I want to take a shower. Maybe after?" Ace offered half-heartedly, and Happy nodded, turning her toward the stairs and pulling her hood up over her curls, which were even more insane than usual. He tucked his cast inside his own sweatshirt and followed her.

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy leaned a shoulder on the doorframe of the bathroom, watching as Ace washed. The water was too hot, steaming up the bathroom and turning her skin an angry pink. He wasn't happy that the doc had upset her so much, but he was enjoying the rare experience of Ace not ducking and hiding from him.

"You gonna tell me what's got you all riled?" He finally asked, when she had quit washing and turned into the water. She didn't even acknowledge him, though, and after a long minute, Happy pushed off from his spot and grabbed her towel. Reaching into the shower, he turned the water off and stepped in, wrapping her up. She fisted her hands in his shirt, and he pulled her hard against him, not liking how shaken she seemed. "Did something happen?"

"No, no, nothing like that." She assured him, and when she pulled back to look up at him, he was captivated by how sexy she looked, her skin beaded with water and her hair piled up in a riot on top of her head. "It just really sucked having to do that alone. It's not like Kozik was going to come back and hold my hand."

"Thank fuck for that." Happy grumbled, making a face. It was exactly the impetus Ace needed to break her out of the funk, she giggled at him, and he grinned back, relieved. He tugged her hair back, and shoved his tongue into her mouth when she gasped. It made him immediately hard when she laughed into his mouth and kissed him back. He pushed her back against the wall, rubbing his dick against her hip, and she surprised the shit out of him when she dropped a hand between them and cupped him through his jeans.

"Shit." He cursed, and tried hard to pull himself back. "Are we doing this?"

"Yeah, I think we are." She hummed against his mouth, pulling his shirt up so that he had to duck out of it.

Her mouth was hot on his skin, and he let his forehead fall against the wall, groaning. He fumbled for the opening in the towel, and was relieved that he found it without having to actually move away from her oral assault on his neck to look. He could feel his self control slipping through his fingers when he found her already wet without having been worked up to it. She was panting now, her breath hot in his ear as he stroked and danced his fingers along the slick, swollen skin. Her hand returned to the bulge in his pants and then she wasn't the only one breathing hard. She rolled her hip, opening herself up further for him, and he cursed when he slid two fingers inside her, remembering the way she felt around his cock. From there it was a race to make her cum before the over the pants handjob she was delivering made him lose all his self respect.

"Come on…" He growled, even as she opened his jeans and slid her hand into his boxers. He would have given anything in that moment to have the cast off of his hand so that he could have pinned her hands to the wall over her head. Instead, he ground the heel of his hand into her clit, not letting up on her until she cried out and finally gave into the orgasm. She barely paused to recover before she was on him again, tugging on his jeans. He pulled his fingers from her, and caught her jaw in his hand, trying hard not to be distracted by the sight of her own juices streaking down the side of her face from his hand.

"Hey." He demanded her attention and she met his gaze boldly. "You're sure about this?"

"Yes, big man, I'm sure." Ace told him, and he nodded once, finishing the job of kicking off his jeans. He tugged on the towel, letting it drop the shower floor.

"Do you want to move?" He asked, realizing for the first time that fucking her standing up in the shower wasn't exactly the way he'd meant to ease her into this.

"_No."_ She hissed, desperate, and he was powerless to refuse her. He dragged her knee up over his hip, past giving a fuck about his cast being braced on the wet wall. She lined him up at her entrance and despite all intentions to go slow and keep his eyes open, he couldn't. The heat and slickness engulfing his cock and sucking him in nearly had him cumming before he'd even gotten balls deep. Incapable of thinking through the haze, Happy just stopped. He couldn't move or think or take in anything beyond how goddamn good she felt.

When he picked his head up off of her shoulder, though, her face was ashen. A quick refocus and he could feel her hands digging into the muscles of his shoulders, and her body had gone tense.

"Shit. Are you alright?" He asked, because he didn't know what else to say to her. He rubbed the leg that he still had over his hip, and kissed her gently on the corner of her lips. His body was vibrating with the need to move, but he clamped down the impulse, concentrating only on her.

"Yeah." She answered, brow furrowed, and she breathed slowly and deliberately through her mouth. "A lot more sore than I expected."

"Ok, are we stopping?" He asked, but she shook her head.

"No, just go slow." She looked like she was gritting her teeth, and he flexed his hips warily, not sure at all that this was a good idea. He was right, the second he started to push back into her, she went completely rigid, practically climbing the wall pulling away from him. "Shit, stop stop stop."

Happy pulled out, and dropped her leg. He saw the streaks of blood on his dick and his stomach rolled, but he dismissed his own issues, knowing that tending to her was critical if he ever wanted to get to the other side of this shit.

"Hey, hey, you're ok, come here." He wrapped his arms all the way around her, and turned them so that he was the one against the wall. She was all tucked in on herself, arms wrapped around her middle, with her head buried somewhere underneath his chin.

"I'm sorry, Happy." She sighed into his chest, and he was gripped by the sudden urge to go hit something. "It just really fucking hurt. We can try again."

"What the fuck are you sorry for? You're fucking bleeding, baby." Happy was completely freaked out, but trying hard not to show it.

"Am I?" She pulled away and looked down at herself, and him. "Damn it. The doctor said that might happen."

He watched her clean up her thighs and crotch with the washcloth still wet from her shower. She seemed pretty nonchalant for someone who had just gotten bloody over sex.

"Did the doctor say what you were supposed to do about it?" He demanded, catching her wrist to get her attention. "Give me something here, I'm kinda freaking the fuck out, baby."

"I'm fine, it's not that big of a thing." She shrugged, and offered the washcloth to him, which he took and wiped the blood off of his softening cock. She was starting to look sad, and he nudged her out of the shower ahead of him.

"C'mere." Happy pulled her onto the bed with him, wrapping both of them up in the blanket. He kissed her forehead and her eyelids and then her lips, until she smiled. "What's doing in that pretty little head?"

"Just frustrated. Today sucked, and then in the shower, I really wanted you and I thought it was going to work, and it didn't, and-" Happy cut off her rambling, pressing his lips to hers, then shushing her.

"Quit. We'll try again in a few days, it's not a big fucking deal." He told her, mostly just relieved that she'd been into it at all. "I really did miss being inside you, though."

Ace snuggled closer to him, and yawned. He knew she had to be pretty wiped from the day, but he didn't want her to sleep too much and be up all fucking night again.

"Go to sleep, I'll get you up in an hour and we'll go eat, k?" He told her, pulling an arm out so he could reach his cigarettes. When he looked down again he expected her to already be asleep, but her eyes were wide open.

"Thanks for dealing with all my shit." She told him, and he'd been about to shrug it off, but her expression was too serious, and she was holding onto him too tightly. "I do love you, big man."

"Yeah, love you, too." He mumbled awkwardly, throat thick. "Go to sleep."

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	29. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer-I don't own the Sons of Anarchy, but I do own this story, my original characters, and FINALLY an answer from the Army on where we are headed. Oh and to address the issue that keeps coming up, Ace is not, has never been, and never will be pregnant, my apologies if it read that way to you.**

Happy gave up on shooting, the cast on his hand made it too much of a chore, even left handed. He gathered up his shit and holstered his SIG before checking the time. Ace had been up the night before, and she'd been dead to the world when he left, so he figured it was unlikely she'd be up, yet. And since he'd left a wedding band on her nightstand with her drugs, she probably wasn't gonna be happy to see him anyway. He let himself behind the counter with Cat, kicking back in one of the folding chairs.

"That was quick." Cat commented, leaning over the counter, poring through a S&W catalogue. He couldn't figure out how she managed to stay on her feet all day in those fucked up shoes.

"Fuckin' cast fucks everything up." He grunted, flexing his hand as much as he could within the confines of the cast.

"Not too much longer and you'll be back to riding and shooting and kicking ass." Cat smiled at him, closing the catalogue and leaned back against the counter. "Take your cut back."

"Can't wait." Happy grinned, looking forward to the pain he intended to deliver to the Bastardos. He'd already begun figuring out the details of how to accomplish everything he wanted to, and the time was getting close enough to start setting things in motion.

"Where's Ace today?" Cat asked, her voice just a touch too casual, and Happy looked up at her sharply.

"She was still asleep when I left. Crazy insomnia." Happy answered, anyway, though. He was aware that Cat was studying him, and trying to make up her mind about something. "Whatever it is, spit it out."

"What really happened in Charming? None of us could figure out why Shark was there in the first place." Cat didn't mince words, just laid it out to get the answers that she wanted.

"We, uh, had kind of a blowout and then with my mom in the hospital, I took off with Tig. Shark went to the motel to make sure she got back there alright." They'd never really talked about that part of the night, but he sure as fuck wasn't about to out his own bad behavior to Tacoma's queen. She raised a brow at him, and he knew that she wasn't buying his story entirely.

"I was under the impression that he'd patched into Redwood because you didn't trust Shark with Ace." Cat commented, all too casually.

"You can quit that line of reasoning right there. Shark's been a friend to Ace for as long as I've been taking him with me to see her. He was trying to help her, and he got killed in the process." Happy was pointing a finger at Cat, warning her off of the implication he knew she wanted to make.

"OK." Cat held her hands up in surrender. "I wasn't implying anything; I was just trying to figure out what he was doing in your room, that's all, big man."

"You don't get to call me that." Happy was on his feet, ready to put an end to this conversation. "And you don't get to question my old lady's loyalty. You don't know anything about her, or our history, so shut the fuck up."

"Hey, I'm sorry." Cat stepped in front of him, and tried to put a hand on his forearm, but he pulled out of her reach. "I'm just concerned, sugar, she shows up out of nowhere and nails down the one guy who's been most vocal about not having an old lady, then turns the club upside down."

"You're wrong." Happy was backing out of the gun shop, keys in hand. "She's _always_ been there, and she doesn't have to prove shit to you. Leave her alone."

Cat stared at him in openmouthed disbelief as he disappeared out the door. Seconds later, the truck was peeling out of the parking lot. Hard as he was, Happy had never spoken to her like that before, if he didn't want to talk he just, didn't. He'd never raised his voice or ordered her around. The change in him since Ace had appeared made her uneasy, but she wasn't exactly sure why.

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace stared at the plain titanium band on the nightstand next to the pills that Happy had put out for her. She looked around the empty room, as though someone was going to pop out and tell her what the fuck was up with the sudden bid for one more claim on her. Since that was obviously not going to happen, she rubbed her eyes and checked the nightstand again, but the ring was still sitting there. Ace picked it up between her thumb and forefinger, holding it a little away from her, like it might bite if she let it get too close.

"That sneaky motherfucker." She marveled, looking from the ring to her naked ring finger and back again. She just bet that this ring would fit perfectly, too. Not that she had intention of trying it on. Her luck would be that the second she got it on, he'd come waltzing through the door and she would have lost the fight before it ever got started. Instead, she placed it carefully back on the nightstand.

Eyeing it warily, she scooped her morning pills, which according to the clock she was actually managing to take solidly in the morning today, into her hand, and cracked open the bottled water, which was still relatively cool. All in all, she hadn't failed too hard today at keeping normal human hours. She'd barely been up the night before, only about an hour, and she'd managed to stay in bed, despite how twitchy it made her.

It was a matter of moments for Ace to get herself put together. She slipped the strap of her hobo bag over her head and returned to the nightstand. She drummed her fingers on the wood for a minute, then made up her mind and slid it into her pocket. With more than a little apprehension, Ace opened the drawer that Hap kept a couple hundred dollars in, and grabbed the cash.

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy had driven around for a while, letting the road soothe him. He was good and goddamn tired of rolling around in this cage, but it was better than sitting static somewhere. Cat's questions about Ace and Shark kept rolling around his head, putting him in a foul mood. He'd never asked Ace to tell him what had happened that night, didn't think that he needed to, but the loose end of how and why Shark had been in their room was suddenly an irritant that he couldn't seem to shake. He knew that he'd damaged her when she'd caught him with that croweater, and then further when he'd backhanded her. For the first time, he was wondering what might have happened if she hadn't been taken that night. Whether his brother had gone there to watch out for her, or to make a bid to be his replacement, and whether Ace would have taken the opportunity to get back at him.

No, that kind of thing wasn't her style. Even the thought of it had him slamming his cast against the steering wheel. Arguably he would have deserved it if she had fucked around. Sure the MC standard was one sided blind fidelity, but Ace had been raised mostly by the same woman he had been, and Delia had strong opinions regarding justice and what kind of shit a woman shouldn't take from her man. Happy really hoped his ma never found out how badly he'd screwed up, he was afraid she'd lead the campaign for Ace to leave him entirely.

He checked the clock, it was just past noon. He could head back to the clubhouse and see if Ace was awake, and find out whether she was pissed or amused by the ring, or he could grab some food and track down Bowie. The plans he had been mulling over for weeks were starting to really meld into coherency, and he needed to get Bowie's take on things and find out what kind of support he'd have when the time came. Of course, Bowie would probably be pissed that Happy had gotten into it with Cat, but all in all, he still thought that Bowie was a safer bet than Ace right now.

**No Other Man Alive**

It was later than Happy had really intended to get back to the clubhouse; all he really wanted was a highball of whiskey and his pretty little wife. After Bowie's initial blowup about the way Happy had treated his old lady, they'd settled down to the business of retribution. Jax's intelligence from Romero Parada highlighted that even though the Bastardos were small time, they had big connections, and that definitely complicated the complete annihilation that Happy wanted for them. It was going to take a lot of money, maneuvering, and favors to untangle the mess he'd left in Fallbrook.

Happy crossed the clubhouse, nodding at the few brothers who had stopped in for a drink after work. He considered stopping to grab a bottle on his way, but the draw of Ace, who always looked at him like he'd done something right, was stronger than his thirst.

"She's not back there." Tig called, and Happy stopped dead in his tracks. He turned slowly, and headed to where Tig and Kozik were playing darts on the far side of the bar.

"Where is she?" Happy asked quietly, he knew that nothing could be wrong because Tig wouldn't be this casual, but the fact that Ace wasn't where he'd left her made his skin crawl.

"Maryanne took her to the mall or some shit." Tig answered, and Happy retreated behind the bar, pulling down an unopened bottle of Jack, looking at it for a long moment, then trading it for the half-full Jameson. He didn't bother with a glass.

"She didn't call." He muttered, planting his ass on the barstool closest to the darts.

"Dude, she doesn't have a phone." Kozik reminded him, abandoning the game in favor of drinking with his brother. "Chill out, she thought she'd make it back before you, said you usually haven't been back before dinner."

"And you couldn't call me and let me know where the fuck she was?" Happy grumbled, and Kozik gave him a sideways look.

"You are so tightly wound, it ain't even funny." Kozik observed. "Things not going so hot with your old lady?"

"Really? You want to go there? Ok let's talk about how things are going with my old lady." Happy put the bottle on the bar and went for his belt. "Hey Tig, how did you and Juice bond? Dunked your balls in his mouth?"

Kozik pushed Happy off of the barstool, but Happy got an arm around the back of Kozik's head, taking him down with him. It wasn't a serious fight, neither one was throwing any punches. Mostly, it was Happy trying to pin Kozik down with his knees so he could get his fly open, and Kozik doing everything he could to make sure that didn't happen. The pair of them stopped their scuffle, both of them on the floor, arms wrapped around each other, Happy's belt was open, and the button on his jeans, too, and they both stared up at Ace. Tig was drinking from Happy's bottle, laughing maniacally.

"Am I interrupting?" She asked, her face caught somewhere between confusion and amusement. Happy shoved Kozik off of him, and rolled nimbly to his feet.

"Hey, where did you disappear to?" He asked her, awkwardly trying to refasten his jeans. Ace put the bag in her hand down and finished the job for him.

"Maryanne gave me a ride to the mall. I needed some long sleeved shirts, figured you were getting tired of me wearing yours." Ace shrugged and hooked her arm through his, grabbing her bag off the floor. "Where did _you _disappear to?"

Happy let her steer him into their room, wondering if enough time had passed that they could try to fuck again. Ace wasn't making any overtures, though; she dropped the bag onto the dresser before even turning her attention on him. He took note that she wasn't wearing the ring, and also that it wasn't where he'd left it.

"Went out to shoot, but that shit got old quick, so I tracked down Bowie." He answered, and picked her left hand up to eye level, rubbing his thumb over her ring finger. Ace quirked an eyebrow at him, daring him to comment, but he decided against it, and ducked down for a kiss, instead. He had his hand on her face, putting pressure on her jaw until she opened her mouth for him.

"Hap…" She broke in when he started backing her toward the bed, and he let his head fall back for a second before he looked at her.

"Too soon?" He asked, with an iron grip on his frustration.

"No, we can give it a shot." Ace answered, unzipping his hoodie and sliding it off of his shoulders. She loved the way he felt under her hands, strong and powerful. "You just caught me off guard, that's all."

It was nearly comical how quickly Happy found himself stripping off his holster and boots. He'd gone longer without pussy, but generally it wasn't being dangled right in front of him when he couldn't have it. Ace was still right there every single day, and since the bruises were just the slightest shadows now, it was getting harder to remember why he couldn't just bend her over whatever piece of furniture was handy and fuck her raw. He sat on the edge of the bed and motioned her over with his hand.

"C'mere." Happy watched her with predatory focus, noting little details, like the way Tacoma's wet weather made her curls go wild, and that her jeans weren't skin tight anymore, and that her cheeks were starting to flush. When she reached him, Happy pulled her onto his lap, her knees going to either side of his hips. It put her tits right up in his face, and he stripped the thermal off of her, and put his lips to work on them. He loved that she let her head fall back, trusting his arms to keep her from falling. His cast was across her lower back, and he tried to keep from chafing her with it, but he really couldn't help pushing her down on his dick.

Happy slid his hand into her hair, and pulled her face to his, forcing her mouth wide. Her hands were tugging his shirt up, and he pulled away from her long enough for her to strip it off, then was on her again, sucking on her neck and not caring if he left marks. He wanted to be all over her skin and inside her.

"Hang on." He ordered her, and stood, turning so that he could lay her out on the bed. Her eyes were wide open and watching him, so he took that as a good sign and stripped the jeans from her long, perfect legs, then went to work on his own. Naked, and aching with the need to get inside her, he forced himself to check the pace. He stroked and then licked his way up both her thighs, rubbing her through her panties until he could feel her dampness through the fabric. He could've pulled them off, but he was too impatient, so he just yanked the crotch to the side and put his mouth on her.

The breathy moan she let out was exactly what his pride had been craving and he deliberately stopped to grin at her, cocky and full of nasty promises. He didn't make her wait, though, the taste of her on his face and in his mouth wasn't nearly enough for him. He wanted her soaked and as desperate for this as he was. His intention had been to stop just short of making her cum, but between her squirming and _those noises_, his will power had bled right out.

He dragged the black panties down her legs while she was still limp and coming down from the orgasm he'd driven her to. The look on her face right after cumming was the one he loved the most, sated and hungry all at the same time, and it drew similarly conflicted feelings of tenderness and absolute savagery from him. It took every single iota of patience he had to his name to wait for her to come all the way down before getting inside of her.

"You good?" He grunted, as close as he could get to actually asking if she was up for this. Ace nodded, her eyes wide, and worried. He reined himself in, taking a couple slow breaths, reminding himself that if he wanted Ace back to her wild in the sack self, he had to do this right. "We'll go as slow as we need to, and we'll stop the second you say the word."

"OK." Ace was visibly trying to relax, and Happy did what he could, running his hand down her side and over the swell of her hip and back again, trying to be gentle with her, but his muscles were so tense that his hand was shaking. When she seemed chill again, he raised his brows and she nodded again.

The heat and wet and tightness of her hit him like a wrecking ball, and that feeling of being impossibly young washed over him. He could swear that being inside her made him 20 years younger. When he was sure that he wouldn't embarrass himself by cumming too soon, he rocked his hips against hers, watching her face closely for discomfort.

"Doing alright?" He asked, and she nodded, but he couldn't stop himself from looking down and checking to make sure she wasn't bleeding on him again. She wasn't, and fuck if the sight of her pussy around his cock wasn't the hottest thing he'd seen in weeks.

"You're sure? No pain?" He asked, a little late, as he was already picking up the pace.

"No, no pain." She answered, and his eyes flew to her face. She wasn't pale the way she'd been the last time, but there was the slightest crease between her brows, like she was concentrating too hard on something. He kept his eyes on her face as long as he could, but eventually lost the battle, distracted by her tits and then closing them entirely to concentrate on how good she felt around him.

"Um, Hap?" Her voice was tentative, and not at all the husky, breathy moan he wanted from her. He stilled immediately, resting his forehead on her shoulder, because the drive to keep moving was painful to resist.

"Yeah?" He finally asked her, nipping at her jaw, praying that she wasn't about to ask him to stop.

"Could we try something else?" That crease between her brows got deeper, like she was trying to solve a riddle.

"Am I hurting you?" He asked, already starting to pull out of her, but she held him still against her.

"Noooo, it's not that, it's just not really doing anything for me." She looked confused, but not nearly as confused as Happy felt. Of all the things he'd prepared himself to hear, that definitely wasn't one of them. He didn't think any woman had ever said that to him, ever.

"Uh, sure." Now it was his brow that furrowed as he tried to figure out what something else to try. Putting her facedown probably wasn't an option, so he slid his arm under her and rolled them so that she was on top.

"Try that." He told her, his hand clamped on her hip, grinding up against her. He watched her face as she started to move, trying to find a rhythm that worked. When she seemed to find her groove, hands braced on his abs, he closed his eyes. His body was already fully engaged, and he felt like he was drowning in the way she felt. Ready to kick it into another gear, he forced his eyes open to gauge where she was at, but if anything, her face was even more scrunched up than before and he became painfully aware of how completely silent she was. Sighing, Happy stilled and scrubbed his face, letting his head drop back on the pillows.

"Nothing?" He asked her, and her face flushed.

"I mean, it doesn't hurt, that's good, right?" Ace protested, sliding on him, making him groan, but he could tell that she was drying out.

"Not nearly good enough." He grumbled, and then sighed again. He dug his heels into the mattress, pushing himself into a semi sitting position.

"Open." He told her, and pushed his thumb into her mouth, trying not to think about shoving his cock into her mouth instead. He dropped his hand to where they were joined, stroking her and then grinding against her.

"Give me your mouth." He ordered her, pissed that his right hand was useless, but glad that she didn't question him. She opened for him immediately, submitting to the desperate kiss. He was increasingly aware that while she continued to work herself against him, she wasn't getting anything out of it. He allowed himself just one more minute to soak in the feeling of her around him, then drew his hand away, putting it on her hip to stop her.

"Stop." He told her, hating the way she looked at him, and hating himself for letting her become like this. "This ain't fun for either one of us."

"But, I'm fine, we can keep going." Ace protested, resisting when he tried to roll her off of him, but he just rolled out from under her, getting up to make certain he wouldn't be tempted.

"Uh-uh, I'd rather jerk off for the rest of my fuckin' like than watch you fuck like you're doing me a favor." He stalked away from the bed, pacing the room, trying to get a handle on his temper.

"I can't believe you just said that to me." She whispered, and the wounded look on her face, the complete distrust in her eyes shattered whatever semblance of control he'd been holding onto.

"_Fuck!"_ He roared, and using the cocksucking useless casted arm, he swept everything off of the top of the dresser, sending half of Ace's shit flying because she never put anything away. Ace had scooted as far back on the bed as she could, pulling the blanket up to cover herself.

"Jesus, Happy, what did I do?" She asked him, and the fact that she immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was her nearly had him seeing red.

"Fuck, I'm doing the best I can here, Ace, but I'm running out of fucking ideas." He snarled at her.

"Ideas for what? Is this because I wasn't all into it?" She asked, incredulous, caught between how hurt she was and the first stirrings of anger.

"No. Yes. _Fuck._" The longer he stayed in the room with her, the more insanely pissed Happy got. He hated the out of control beast he'd become since taking her on, and part of him was beginning to hate her a little bit, too. Out of nowhere Cat's question came hammering into his mind, and he snatched his jeans off the floor, yanking them on, praying that he could get out before he opened his mouth again.

"Are you shitting me? Is your ego that fucking fragile that you have to make this about you?" Ace was off the bed, dragging the blanket with her, and her cheeks were flaming red as her temper rose.

"If my ego was that fragile, I'd be asking you if you were refusing to wear this-" He grabbed the velvet ring box from the rubble on the floor, "Because you didn't think you deserved it. Because you've never bothered to explain to me exactly what the fuck you thought you were doing alone in a motel room with my brother!"

She recoiled from the accusation he'd just hurled at her as if it were a physical blow, and stared at him, her mouth open in disbelief. Her breath came in ragged heaves, and in the silence Happy regretted so much that he couldn't even begin to pinpoint how far back it went.

"I can't do this." The words fell out of his mouth, and he couldn't even figure out what he meant by them.

"Get out." Her voice was low and harsh, barely more than a whisper, and it was exactly what he wanted to hear since it felt like the room was closing in on him. He grabbed a shirt and his holster, then went to the closet for the bag he kept packed for emergency runs. He shoved the ring box into the backpack and left without even looking back at her.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	30. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer-I do not own the Sons of Anarchy, but I do own No Other Man Alive, my original characters, and a raging case of hate for the idiot down the block who revs his Kawasaki for fun when he's drunk. My hetero lifemate's sewing machine has more testicular fortitude than your "motorcycle" so please stop playing with it at 2 in the morning.**

Ace watched as Happy grabbed up his stuff, his movements were jerky and uncoordinated. His jaw was clamped down so hard that it looked painful. The muscles in his back bunched and rolled, and it made her sick that after everything they'd just said, all the damage they'd wrought, she still itched to run her hands over his skin, maybe press her cheek against the artwork.

He never even looked at her, even though her eyes never left him. The soft click of the door shutting sounded as loud as a gunshot and couldn't have been more final, even if he had slammed it.

Ace sat completely still on the bed, staring at the door, waiting. She waited for the tears and the devastation, but as the light changed from dusk to dark and her eyes stayed perfectly dry, Ace had to conclude that maybe she was finished with crying. Still, she didn't move from her spot, didn't sleep, just looked at the mess and thought about how that didn't even begin to compare to the path of destruction that had been following in her wake.

Happy had spelled it out for her before they'd gone to Tacoma, back when all of this seemed like an amazing adventure. He'd told her that she was a weakness, no a liability, and that he was fooling himself thinking that she wouldn't be used against him. She'd never known him to be wrong before, not about human nature and the lengths people would go to, to get what they wanted, so it didn't surprise her that he'd been right this time, too. It was her fault, the entire thing had been a chain reaction set off by Happy's shit timing. An hour later and she would have been able to deflect any of the normal probing questions he'd have had for her, and then after getting what he needed, Happy would have left. He could have gone back to the road he loved so much, and she could have finished handling her husband's debt, then gone anywhere in the world. She wondered if Happy would have tracked her down wherever she landed.

Happy's phone started ringing, somewhere in the debris on the floor. She thought about getting it, but the thought of moving from the bed was too much, so she just stayed there, and watched it light up every now and then. No one had come to the door, not that she would have gotten up for that, either. The ambient sounds from around the clubhouse died down, and the silence settled on her like a physical weight.

She remembered being in her driveway, thinking about how she'd be happy with however long Happy would give her, but she never saw this coming. He _loved _her, she knew that he did, and if that couldn't be enough, then nothing would. In a way, she felt bad for having accidentally put him in a position where he felt like he had to try to be something that he didn't want to be.

It was hours before it occurred to her to wonder if Happy had even left Tacoma. She'd assumed that he had taken to the road for solace, but he certainly could be holed up in someone else's bed. He'd lived here for years, probably had a number of regular fuck buddies he could call, and Lord knew that no woman would throw him out of bed. Ace hoped that whoever the nameless faceless cunt was, she was familiar enough with Happy's ink that the latest addition would be screamingly obvious. Further, she hoped the bitch asked him about it, and that he felt completely shitty about getting his dick wet as a married man.

Married. Shit, they were fucking married. Well, that could be fixed, and probably with very little trouble, it's not like she'd brought any assets to the table and there weren't kids involved. No, she wouldn't think about that now, that was something to consider in the daylight. Besides, if he'd stayed local, he would probably be back before morning. They could talk like grownups, figure out how to move forward, what the next step was. It didn't have to be all animosity and vitriol, people split up all the time without ripping each other to shreds. Definitely think about that in the daylight.

The phone started ringing again.

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy looked down at the speedometer and forced himself to let off the accelerator again. He'd already gotten a ticket crossing the border into Idaho, and he couldn't afford another one. He wished he could press the pedal to the floor and drive until the road ran out; it had been a lot of years since he'd been on the East Coast.

Ace hadn't ever been to the East Coast, hadn't ever been out of California, even. Shit. He couldn't even clear her out of his mind long enough to calm the fuck down before she popped back up. He used to be able to go months without thinking about Ace, and now his own mind kept betraying him by tying his every thought back to her.

There had been a moment after he'd gotten into the truck, but before he'd put the keys in the ignition, when he'd considered going back inside. Just heading back up the steps and kicking the door open, forcing her to see that with how badly he wanted her, the rest of this was all just noise. But he had no way to unsay the things he'd said to her, and it was just the last in an impressively long line of fuckups where she was concerned. Better for both of them if he didn't, there were still too many ways for them to rip each other to pieces.

Instead, he was tearing up the miles, headed absolutely nowhere. With no cut and no way to ride, it was the first time since he'd patched in that he'd existed outside the confines of duty and getting shit done. Sure, he'd had time off, but it was always with a purpose, taking care of his ma or riding out to a rally. All the wide open miles were supposed to be making the shit fall away, but instead, the further he got away, the heavier his burden felt, and the louder all the shit in his head got.

Happy was real tired of feeling like he didn't know what the fuck he was doing, where his boot was gonna land next. He'd prided himself on being level headed, on thinking around all the corners, and making decisions that were backed entirely by logic. Being with Ace, it went against everything he'd valued in himself, and judging by the way she'd looked at him when she told him to get out, words he hadn't thought her capable of, all the things he valued in her had been wrecked, too.

It was funny, when he'd found out what had been done to her, seen those goddamn disgusting pictures, he thought that that had been it. That no woman would be able to come back from where she'd been taken, but he'd been wrong. Sure, she wasn't the same woman she had been, but she'd still opened herself back up to him, clung to him and let him be her safe place. She'd already been damaged when he'd scooped her up in Fallbrook, completely lost and unsure of who she was, and Happy wished she'd found out what Tony had been up to before he'd offed himself. Ace said she would have killed him herself, but that wasn't in her makeup. She would have left him, and eventually, Happy would have come through for ink and he could have put things right, shown her that she was more than what her husband had done to her. Instead he'd been too fucking late, and too blinded by her to see how fucked up she'd really been. He'd forced her to trust him, engineered that shit, trading on their years and years of history and he'd never stopped to consider that he couldn't actually be the man he wanted for her, and wasn't that about as twisted as it got.

The darkness was just starting to lift, not nearly dawn, yet, but it was coming. Happy figured he should get off of the road, hole up somewhere for the day, maybe two. If he could get some sleep and some fucking peace, he might just be able to think through the noise enough to figure out where he the fuck he was running to.

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace watched as the last darkness of night bled out of the dorm room, replaced by the thin grey light of Tacoma's overcast morning. She'd held out through the night, thinking that there was the slightest sliver of chance that Happy might come back, but daylight wasn't how he'd ever come to her before and she knew it wouldn't be that way now.

Ace stretched carefully, her muscles tired and sore from sitting through the night unmoving. Her head ached with that half hungover feeling that hardcore insomniacs were intimately familiar with. Luckily she had an entire lifetime of experience pushing through it to fall back on. She threw her legs over the side of the bed and waited for the dizzy feeling to pass.

Happy's cigarettes and ashtray sat on his nightstand, and they looked kind of lonely waiting for him to come back, so Ace pulled one out and put it between her lips and lit it. Normally Ace only smoked on the rare occasions that she was so pissed that she couldn't see straight, and the smoke made her throat burn and her stomach turn, but she kept dragging on the Marlboro anyway. When she'd stubbed out the butt, Ace got up, tracking carefully through the mess all over the floor around to her nightstand. It took her one long stupid minute to remember where her fucking drugs would be before she headed to the bathroom.

Ace counted out the pills left in the bottle, relieved to see that she only had a couple days left on the antibiotics. She'd quit the painkillers almost two weeks ago, preferring the dull aches to feeling drugged all the time. It took her a second to remember which antibiotics were the ones she was supposed to take in the morning. Christ, Happy was right, she had been acting like a child.

Ace sifted through the wreckage, pulling on panties that she was pretty sure were clean, and then her jeans. She found one of the long sleeved shirts she purchased and ripped the tags off of it and put it on, not even bothering with a bra. She dug her hand into her jeans pocket and was relieved that the ring was still there. This time she slid it on, and just like she'd thought, the stupid fucking thing fit perfectly. Happy was good with details like that. The weight of it felt good, and she actually felt a little bad that she'd jerked him around about it. None of which mattered now anyway. She put it back in her pocket, the least she could do was keep it safe so that she could give it back to him.

With a sigh, Ace began picking up the stuff that littered the floor. The clothes and her sketchbook, the pencils were everywhere, having rolled under every piece of furniture in the room. She picked up Happy's phone, which hadn't rung in hours, and set it on his nightstand. Once she got cleaning, erasing the physical evidence of their end, she couldn't stop. When all the stuff was picked up, she emptied the ashtray and rinsed it out in the bathroom. Then she wiped down the sink, and the shower, and then moved on to dusting the top of the dresser and the nightstands.

Eventually, though, Ace ran out of things to put right, so she lay back down on the bed, trying to avoid the dizzy feeling. She buried her face in the pillow that still smelled like him and gave into the tears that finally, finally came.

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy groaned as he sat up on the shitty motel bed. He'd been too tired to care about closing the curtains when he'd fallen into bed earlier that morning, and now the sunlight was practically stabbing his eyes. His eyelids felt like sandpaper, and he'd smoked his throat raw the night before. Feeling like shit was a fairly accurate assessment of his situation.

"Fuck." He looked around the room, completely empty besides him, and for the first time that he could remember, he felt lonely. He'd spent a lot of time alone in his life, alone on the road, in prison, even in clubhouses he liked his own company better than anyone else's. Just one more way that his Ace had spun his head around. Fuck it all, he actually missed her. He used to think that he missed the peace that he felt at the other end of her needle, or the admittedly fantastic way her pussy wrapped around his dick, but he wasn't a stupid man, and he was done lying to himself. He'd told her he loved her, and he'd meant it, even though that was all wrapped up in hating himself.

If he had been a younger man, Happy figured he would have headed straight back to Tacoma, with the same plan of making her sense no matter the cost. He felt every day of his age today, though, and knew that no force on Earth could compel him to go back to her empty handed. He'd go back as a whole man, the man she deserved or not at all. Fuck if he knew where to start on that shit, though.

Happy lit a cigarette, grimacing at the burn, but it didn't stop him from smoking the Marlboro to the filter. He flexed his right hand, and tried to fist it, fighting the plaster as much as he could. It wasn't the first time cutting the cast off had crossed his mind, but it was the first time he'd had to actually resist the impulse. Seventeen days left, he could man up and deal with the cast, it was his best shot at riding again and he knew it. There was a lot of shit he could get done in seventeen days, too, and get back to Tacoma and back to Ace, and with any amount of luck, back to fucking normal.

**No Other Man Alive**

It was fully dark in the room when Ace woke up, and she yawned hugely, trying to figure out what had woken her. Happy's stupid goddamn phone was ringing again. Ace groaned, pulling herself up and swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She lit another cigarette, mostly just to spite Happy, not that he'd actually care. She opened the bottom drawer of Happy's nightstand and found the bottle of Jack she knew he kept there. He even had a highball, so she tipped the whiskey in, filling it to the rim. She made a face at the first sip, it definitely wasn't her Jameson, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

Sipping the whiskey, Ace got herself to a standing position, head spinning. Not really a surprise, since she couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten anything. The thought of venturing out of her hidey hole made her nauseous as hell, though, so she figured she'd check Happy's phone for unknown numbers on the off chance that he'd tried to call. She knew that he hadn't, but it gave her one more way to delay the inevitable.

Ace scrolled through the missed calls, if you set it to music, it would probably have a real nice beat. Kozik, Kozik, Tig. Kozik, Kozik, Tig. Quinn. Kozik, Kozik, Tig. Kozik, Kozik, Tig. Quinn again. She hated being right about Happy not bothering to check in. For a second she felt guilty about snooping through his phone, but fuck all that followed closely behind. She looked through his texts, not much there, just Club stuff. Exiting out of that she figured she should check and make sure he hadn't been storing dirty pictures of her.

She opened the gallery of saved pictures and dropped the phone like it had burned her. Ace stared at the open phone at her feet, breathing hard.

"I'm in Tacoma. I'm safe. Happy's…well, he's not there anyway." Her voice was louder than she'd expected, and she jumped a little. "Quit being a fucking pussy." She chided herself. "You were there, it's not like you don't know what the fuck happened."

Still it took her a long time to set her whiskey down on the dresser and pick up the phone. She spent a long time looking at each picture. She studied each image of herself with two and three men all over her, ruining her, with the kind of contained rage that led to arson. When she was done, she dropped the phone in the whiskey. But that wasn't nearly satisfying enough. Bad enough that she'd been _raped,_ bad enough that so many people had been _witness_ to it, what she couldn't swallow was that Happy, _her man_ had kept these pictures. Here she had been doing everything she could to put it all behind her, behind them, and he'd kept some cocksucking souvenirs. Well fuck him if he thought she was going to sit around and wait for his ass. With a choked scream, Ace launched the glass, whiskey, phone and all at the wall as hard as she could. It shattered delightfully, and she smiled, a hard bitter grin. Happy would have recognized the look, he'd sported it often.

Her hand was on the doorknob before she remembered that she hadn't bothered with a bra, and the tight black shirt didn't leave much to the imagination. She fought the impulse to retreat back to the dresser and find a bra. Let his brothers get a good fucking look, most of them had probably seen her tits already from those fucking pictures and damn Happy if he didn't like it. If he wanted an opinion he should have stuck around.

Ace was in the hall and headed for the clubhouse proper before she noticed the glass in her foot. She leaned back against the wall and pulled it out, cursing in Spanish under her breath. When she looked up again, she had begun to attract the notice of the Tacoma Sons. She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin, marching barefoot through the entrance and into the melee.

"Ace high!" Kozik caught her attention immediately, and Ace was unexpectedly filled with gratitude that if nothing else, Happy had left her access to the best protection a girl could ask for. Kozik pushed his way through the crowd, it must be Friday, and Tig was right on his heels.

"When did you guys get back?" Kozik asked her, big goofy grin on his face, looking past her. Ace looked at him stupidly for a moment before the realization that no one here even knew what happened caught up to her. He hadn't bothered to tell his brothers where he'd disappeared to, either, or why. She watched as a loaded look passed between Tig and Kozik, and they closed in on her.

"Where's your Old Man, dollface?" Tig asked, but not in any way that made her believe that he really thought she knew.

"No idea." Ace smiled sweetly up at him, batting her eyelashes sarcastically at him. Tig grabbed her by the back of the neck and pushed her through the crowd and out the door. He stopped her on the landing, and between him and Kozik, Ace felt pleasantly crowded, just like old times.

"Talk." Tig ordered her, finger in her face.

"He left last night, didn't take his phone. I'm pretty sure we're done." It was actually a relief to say that out loud, even though Ace couldn't have explained why if there had been a knife at her throat.

"What doya mean he left?" Tig complained, hands fisting in his hair.

"He said he couldn't do this anymore, then took his keys and walked out. Honestly, I figured he told one of you where he was headed." Ace felt like apologizing, but she wasn't sure what to say, so she just pushed herself up to sit on the top rail.

"Wait." Kozik broke in as Tig started muttering to himself. "Have you been locked up in that room the whole time?"

"Uh, yes?" Ace answered uncertainly.

"He just left you in there? No cash, no car, no nothing?" Kozik kept pushing.

"Yep." Ace shrugged, since Kozik had managed to sum up her new circumstances pretty succinctly.

"What the fuck did you do to him?" TIg lunged at her, holding her off balance by her shoulders, leaning her back over the multistory drop to pavement. Ace didn't grab at him, just arched an eyebrow and sighed.

"I have no idea, Tigger." She told him, holding his gaze dispassionately. Kozik was at Tig's shoulders, trying to pull them both back, but Tig kept shrugging him off. Ace supposed that she should be worried that Tig might actually drop her, but it really just wasn't in her to care. Finally Tig gave in and set her on her feet.

"No, nah, Hap wouldn't just fucking bug out like that. You, yeah, he'd leave your ass behind, but not me." Tig was frantic, pacing the two steps back and forth. "That's not the way this shit is supposed to work. Why the fuck do bitches like you always fuck everything up?"

Ace shrugged, and leaned back to let Tig work himself out. Kozik was unnerving her with his scrutiny. Most of the time Tacoma's Sergeant at Arms looked like a big, goofy beefcake, but out here looking at her with that intense studiousness, Ace could believe that he was the enforcer Happy had assured her he was. She finally looked away, uncomfortable, because that knowing gaze was all too familiar.

"You haven't eaten." Kozik pointed out. "And your foot is bleeding."

"Yeah, there might be a little bit of a broken glass situation in Happy's room." She admitted.

"Who threw it?" Kozik asked, still staring her down.

"I did."

"Before or after Happy ran out on you?"

"After." She shot back, not sure what Kozik was getting from this line of questioning, but certain that he was learning more than she wanted him to.

"Hmph." Was all the answer that Kozik gave her.

"I need help." Ace finally told them, using her last dregs of courage to confess that. Tig finally stopped his pacing, and another one of those loaded looks passed between him and Kozik. "Are you allowed to help me? If that's against some kind of rule, I mean, that's fine."

"Depends on what you're asking for." Kozik told her cautiously. "Go put your boots on, Happy would beat me blue if he found out I didn't feed you."

"Koz, you really don't-"

"Shut up and do what you're told, Ace." Tig's voice was colder than she'd ever heard it, but she stayed where she was for one more minute before she shrugged nonchalantly and obeyed.

When she got back out to the parking lot, Ace almost lost her nerve and retreated. They were both geared up to ride, because obviously Kozik wouldn't have had his car for Church. She swallowed hard and silently told herself to man the fuck up. Tig and Kozik were her only shot at regaining any semblance of self respect. She approached with her head held high and waited until Kozik handed her his helmet.

"You're with me, Tiggy doesn't have a bitch seat. Mine's not much, not even a sissy bar, but we'll make do." Kozik told her, kicking out the passenger pegs and starting the engine. "Hop on."

It took Ace a few seconds to get her legs moving, but she managed to put a shaking hand on Kozik's shoulder to slide onto the back. With no backrest, she was forced into close, intimate proximity, wrapping her arms around his waist. She leaned her head on the back of his cut and shut her eyes, willing the sick feeling in her stomach down as Kozik took off into the moonlight after Tig.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	31. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer-I still have no claim on the Sons of Anarchy as a whole. I do own NOMA, my original characters, and a whole new charter of MC guys and old ladies to get to know, which I'm embarrassingly psyched about. Get comfy, this is over 6500 words.**

It was close to four in the morning when Happy finally rolled into the clubhouse parking lot. He'd been on the road for over twelve hours, and the sleeping during the day and up all night shit reminded him strongly of his old lady. He wondered if she was slipping back into her bad habits of skipping sleep and food again. Without anyone to keep tabs on her, he figured she probably would. If he'd had his phone on him, Happy probably would have shot off a text to Tig to check up on her. It was probably best that he didn't have the phone, though, it would be too tempting to reach out to her and he had to stay focused.

Happy crossed the lot, trying not to think about everything that had happened at this clubhouse with Ace, but as usual she had managed to insinuate herself into every safe place he'd had. He remembered the way she'd dismissed that disgusting whore, breaking down any resistance Happy had thought he had to following her around like a dog. She hadn't even bothered to crook a finger and he'd been panting at her heels. God help him if she ever figured out that she had the upper hand. As for that blond bitch, he was really looking forward to making good on his promise to slit her from throat to gash. Slowly. With a serrated blade.

Grinning, he pushed open the door to the clubhouse, not surprised to find brothers still at the bar on a Friday night. He nodded a greeting to Slick, who was on the couch getting head from a hooker.

"Jury." He stopped only for the charter president. "Got an open room for the night?"

"Happy!" Jury stood and hugged him tightly. "Didn't know you were coming down. What's mine is yours, you're always welcome. What brings you to Nevada?"

"Just passing through, Jury, planning to be back on the road in the morning." Happy grunted, losing interest in conversation.

"Listen, we're all real sorry about what happened to Ace. How's she doing?" Jury asked, all concern and caring. Was there a man alive that didn't immediately take a shine to his wife?

"She's good. Stayed up in Tacoma." Happy shifted, past ready for a bed, but not quite daring to cut off Jury.

"Good, that's good. Well you tell her we're all thinking about her, alright?" Jury laid a hand on Happy's shoulder and squeezed. "Just go kick open doors until you find an empty room."

"Thanks, Jury, appreciate it."

Happy found an unlocked door on his second try, on the opposite end of the hall from his last stay in Nevada. It was empty, with no one's shit laying around, so he dropped his bag and headed for the shower. He didn't bother covering his cast, just wrapped an extra towel around it and kept it out of the water. All he really wanted was to rinse the drive off of his skin, and jerk off. He remembered fucking Ace in the shower after putting his name in her skin, and it made him horny as hell. With his right arm propped against the shower wall, Happy stroked himself, picturing in his mind the way Ace had popped her ass and begged for it.

"I can help you with that." Happy's head flew up at the sound of a woman's voice. One of Jury's girls, she had a tiny little waist and slim hips, and an unlikely, generous rack. She also had red hair, and Happy thought for a minute that if he didn't have to see her face, he could pretend for a little while. But then, she was too narrow, and even fucking her from behind wouldn't change that fact. He knew that the whole time he would keep looking for ink that wouldn't be there, not his name, not the row of books, and not the little flashes of color from her fireworks.

"Get out, bitch." He dismissed her, and closed his eyes, trying to recapture the fantasy.

"You sure you don't want some company?" The girl was even closer now, and horny and frustrated; Happy was starting to feel his control slipping.

"I said, get the fuck out. Now." He yelled this time, and the girl high tailed it out of the bathroom, a stupid pouty look on her face.

Happy tried to find his rhythm again, but quickly just gave the fuck up. He slammed his palm against the tiled wall, then turned the cold water all the way up, and just let the spray beat on his back. Instead of trying to picture her naked and moaning, he let himself think about the way she always turned toward him when she was sleeping or that one perfect morning in Tacoma when she'd said she was proud of him. He could do that, figure out how to be whoever she had seen, he had to.

**No Other Man Alive**

"No. Absolutely fucking not." Tig broke in, sitting up in the booth, arms still crossed petulantly across his chest. "Uh-uh. You fucked him up, you don't get to dip out and not fix him."

"Jesus Christ, Tig, I didn't fucking do anything to Happy. I wouldn't ever do anything to hurt Happy." Ace rolled her eyes at him, and crossed her own arms in an unconscious mirror of Tig. Kozik looked back and forth between the two from his spot next to Tig. There had been a really weird moment when they'd gotten to the redneck 24 hour diner where both men had tried to figure out how to avoid sitting next to her or each other.

They'd both decided that sitting together was better than sitting with her, though, and ever since then it had been an ongoing battle of kicking under the table and Tig repeatedly trying to shove Kozik off of the bench.

"I'm not asking you to hide me." Ace turned her plea on Kozik. "Whenever he wants to know where I am, you can tell him. And I'll pay you back whatever money it takes, with interest, and I'll even stay close to a charter if you want, I just need to get someplace new where no one knows me and start over. That's it."

Usually so gregarious, it was a little unnerving that Kozik was so silent. He looked at her just like Happy did when he was trying to work out some new little bit of information, adding it in with the encyclopedia full of shit he already knew about her, and coming out with new conclusions. He finally leaned forward on his elbows. "Why?"

Just one word. Ace scoffed a little at him, thinking that Kozik didn't know what he was asking, but the dead serious look on his face assured her that he definitely did. And that he probably knew a lot more than he was letting on, but that he wanted to hear it from her.

"Whatdoya mean, 'why', it doesn't fucking matter. She ain't going anywhere until Hap turns up." Tig ranted, and kicked Kozik under the table, but Kozik ignored him, still staring down Ace.

The staredown was getting uncomfortable. Ace was already a little jumpy with Kozik, the ride from the clubhouse had wrecked her. With no backrest, she'd been forced to really cling to Kozik, and for a woman as hands off as Ace, it felt as close as fucking. It hadn't gotten better when Kozik had told her that Happy would be out for his throat when he found out she'd been on the back of his bike.

"Because we're done, Kozik. I'm not going to sit around here and be a charity case. He's not ever going to get ok with what happened to me." Ace told him, fiddling with the sleeves of her shirt.

"Let him finish cleaning up his mess, he'll come back to you once his conscience is clear." Kozik reasoned, and Ace laughed bitterly again.

"Oh I know he'll be back, but it won't be for me." She told him.

"He just needs to kill this guy, then he'll be right as rain."

"Well, I'm so glad that _he'll _feel all better. How bout this? Next time, he can get gangbanged and I'll take the burden of feeling shitty about it." Ace snapped, starting out of the booth. She'd walk all the way back if she had to.

"Hey. That's not how I meant it. Ace!" Kozik lunged to grab her wrist, and before she knew what was happening, Ace had swung at him, her height advantage giving her a solid shot at his face, which made Tig laugh.

"Shit." Ace covered her mouth in horror. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that."

Kozik rubbed his jaw, still with that calculating look on his face. "Nah, that was my fault, Ace high. You're fine. Sit back down."

"If you're not going to help me then we're done. Take me back to the clubhouse and I'll figure it out myself." Ace stayed upright, crossing her arms stubbornly.

"I didn't say that. Sit down." Kozik insisted, leaning back in the booth. "Eat your food. Anyone ever tell you that you hit like a girl?"

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy was on the road before eight, a destination finally in mind. With no Harley and no cut, he was pretty sure he could stay in Fallbrook with no one getting tipped off. He'd have to pick up a hat or something and keep his ink as under wraps as he could. His girl's name on his throat could be a problem; he'd have to see if keeping his hoodie zipped all the way up covered it enough.

He'd slept like shit the night before. The cold water had made all his muscles tense up, so it had taken forever for him to fall asleep. Once he'd nodded off, Happy had been plagued with weird fucking dreams. He'd startled awake a few times, hand wrapped around his knife and breathing hard, unable to remember what the dream had even been about.

Happy fiddled with the Tracphone he'd picked up at a truck stop outside of Reno. He knew he was breaking all the rules being out of touch like this. Quinn was going to kick his teeth down his throat next time he saw him, but for now Happy was too attached to the autonomy to call in. He couldn't call Tacoma, because he knew that the second someone said her name he'd be on his way there, and he had things he needed to figure out before he could go back. Empty handed wasn't an option. He wondered if old Bill would rat him out if he went to the shop while he was in town.

Thinking about Bill and the shop made him think about ink. Happy was always jonesing for more, it was like a constant itch. He wished that he'd grabbed Ace's book before he'd left, she certainly hadn't been putting it to any use. He didn't think he'd ever seen her go so long without drawing in all the time he'd known her, even when she'd been a kid it had been obvious to him that she was talented. Fuck knows he wouldn't have trusted her with his ink if he hadn't been sure of her.

Happy thought again about her big eyes back when she'd trusted him. And all the skin that could still be dirtied up, just waiting for him to put his needle to it. He already knew that he'd be adding to her ink when he got back, right across that scar, a physical promise that no matter what came up, he'd handle it.

He checked the clock, there were a lot more hours of road ahead of him. The miles would be a lot easier to swallow if he was on his Harley with Ace's legs around him.

**No Other Man Alive**

For the third night in a row Ace found herself shitfaced and awake long after everyone else in the clubhouse was asleep. She'd been drawing again, trying to push herself through all the shit. She had to be able to put ink to skin so she could earn, and she had to be able to do it without getting all twisted up over the shit she saw in her head. So far she'd only managed to draw the nightmares. Little flashes from when she'd been under Rivera's body, or the things she'd imagined had been done to Happy after he'd traded himself for her.

Not for the first time, Ace wished that he hadn't come for her. Maybe if Juice had held out a little longer on telling Happy where she was being held, she could have goaded one of Rivera's guys into finally killing her. It would have made things a helluva lot simpler for everyone. Sure, Happy would have gone insane over it, but then he'd have gotten his revenge, and moved on with his life. He would have gone back to the road, back to the club, and back to normal.

Ace ripped the latest piece out of her sketchbook and taped it to the wall over the dresser. From there she headed to the closet. She was definitely drunker than she'd thought, but too Irish to be anything but steady on her feet. She felt along the shelf in the closet, too short to be able to see anything, and not trusting her balance enough to drag a chair over. Her hand finally fell on what she was looking for, and she pulled it down.

It was Happy's little revolver, his boot gun. She'd brought it down before, liking the weight in her hand. It didn't compare to the way either of her Glocks had felt, but they'd both been confiscated in Charming. Normally she put the piece back pretty soon after grabbing it, but this time Ace closed the closet door and brought it with her to the bed.

Sitting up on the comforter, Ace drank straight from the bottle of Jack she'd snagged from the store room earlier. She was pretty sure Penny was on to how much she'd been drinking, but as a new patch, she didn't think he'd say anything. The black revolver was just a darker shadow on the bed, and when the whiskey ran out, Ace picked it up. She spun the barrel, unsurprised to find it loaded. A flick of her wrist and her thumb hovered on the hammer, flirting with it. She forced herself to put the gun back down, though.

Ace lay back, burying her face in the pillow that only barely smelled like Happy anymore, but breathed deep anyway. She closed her eyes and pretended that he was there, running his hand through her hair, kissing her when he thought she was already asleep.

**No Other Man Alive**

Tig waited an hour after Ace stopped moving around before he cracked open the door and looked in on her.

"Stupid bitch." He breathed, shaking his head as he crossed to the bed. The bottle she'd lifted earlier was empty, and it didn't matter how much she flaunted her Irish, that was more whiskey than a bitch her size could take. Her hand was wrapped around a revolver. Hap's throwaway, it looked like. He peeled her fingers off of it, and she didn't react when he took it from her. He put it on the nightstand, which was overflowing with cigarette butts, another dirty little habit she'd picked up since Happy had left them all high and dry. There were more fucked up drawings taped to the wall, and Tig shuddered, the shit coming out of her head was getting worse every night.

"Hey. Dollface." Tig slapped her cheek lightly, then a little harder, finally shaking the shit out of her, but her head just lolled.

"I am going to beat the everloving shit out of your old man whenever he shows his goddamn face." He promised her, sliding his arms under her and lifting her. Her head fell back over his arm and she still didn't move. "I am not a fucking babysitter." He grumbled, trekking down the hallway to Kozik's room, glad the SAA had been crashing there so he didn't have to deal with this shit alone. He kicked the door until he heard Kozik get out of bed, then started back to his own room.

"What the fuck, Tiggy?" Kozik stood in the middle of the hall in his boxers, his blonde hair flattened on one side.

"Call Donut to come look at her, stupid gash probably has alcohol poisoning." Tig called over his shoulder. He dumped Ace unceremoniously on the floor and dug his key out of his pocket and opened the door before moving her to his bed. He fucking wished Hap had his phone on him, one picture of his old lady passed out on Tig's bed would be a surefire way to have him speeding back to Tacoma, even better than a picture of her on Kozik's bitch seat.

"Donut's on his way in." Kozik appeared in the doorway, barefoot in his jeans. "You tried to wake her up?"

"Yeah, I knocked her head on every doorway, didn't even stir." Tig pulled the chair up next to the bed, and kicked his boots up. He nudged Ace none too gently on the hip with one steel toe in demonstration. He pulled his phone out of his cut and threw it to Kozik. "Take a picture. Whenever that shithead picks up a phone I'm sending it to him, he'll come running."

"Yeah to bash your head in." Kozik told him, but took the picture anyway and tossed it back.

"You know, I wish he would." Tig mused. "At least he'd be doing something instead of moping somewhere like a pussy."

"He's really done a number on her, huh?" Kozik said, going around to sit on the other side of the bed, back to the headboard.

"She's a tough bitch, she can handle it." Tig answered, and lit a cigarette.

"Well this is cozy." Donut commented drily, appearing in the doorway. He was in uniform, which meant he was still on Tacoma's clock. "I don't have much time, unless you want me to call this in and take her to the hospital."

"Nah, putting her in the hospital is only gonna freak her out. Just make sure she ain't gonna kick it tonight." Tig told him, pushing his chair back so Donut could get in to look at her.

"How much did she drink?" He asked, taking her pulse.

"Well there's an empty bottle of whiskey in her room that was full this afternoon."

"Her vitals are pretty decent. I can plug an IV into her, that should help." Donut was rooting around in his bag for the things he'd need. "One of you is gonna have to watch her, though, in case she stops breathing."

"Thanks, Donut." Kozik said gratefully.

"Can you get your hands on some prescription sleeping drugs? Maybe that'll keep her from drinking herself stupid every night." Tig asked.

"Yeah, no problem, I'll bring you something in the morning. I gotta get back." Donut sighed, and headed for the door.

"Call you if there's a problem?" Kozik called after him, but Donut stopped at the door.

"If there's a problem, take her to the hospital, there's nothing else I can do." Donut said. "You know this is really fucked up, right?"

"Oh yeah." Tig answered.

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy sat nursing a beer in the little dive bar. From his vantage point he could watch the comings and goings at the pool hall across the street. He pulled his hat lower on his brow when one of the Bastardos crossed the street to the bar. He'd avoided notice so far, just another shithead, drinking alone. It was hot as balls in the bar, but he didn't dare even push his sleeves up.

He'd seen a lot of the little punks over the last few days, but he hadn't seen the one he'd been looking for. Hadn't seen that gash, either. If either one of them had shown up, Happy didn't think he would have been able to resist the opportunity. He couldn't wait to get his hands on Rivera, kid or not, Happy was going to cut him to pieces. He'd start with the kid's eyes, yeah, definitely the eyes.

The thing that he kept coming back to though, was how a goddamn teenager had the balls to orchestrate something like what he'd done to Ace. And the men who had been with him hadn't been some punk ass kids trying to impress a friend, they'd been men. Which meant that little Carlos Rivera had to be more important than he seemed.

As two more Bastardos entered the bar, Happy stood up to leave. He took the chance of crossing the street cruising the front of their lair. His nose flared when he caught sight of his cut nailed to the wall. It took more willpower to put his head down and keep walking than he thought he was capable of.

**No Other Man Alive**

It felt like a steel spike was buried in her head, and nothing smelled very good. Ace went to rub her face, but the tugging on her arm stopped her short. She opened her eyes and tried to focus on her arm. There was an IV in her arm. A quick check told her that she definitely wasn't in a hospital, though. Definitely not her room, either. She lifted her head off of the pillow and got a really up close look at Kozik, bare-chested on the bed next to her.

Her stomach lurched and Ace ripped the needle out of her arm and flew for the bathroom. She heaved, whiskey and stomach acid burning her throat and nose. She barely caught her breath in between onslaughts, and tried not to think about the stains that were decorating the porcelain she was hugging.

"If you tell me you're knocked up, I'm not responsible for the boot that's going to go straight up your ass." Tig leaned on the doorframe watching her without an ounce of sympathy, but his jab didn't hold any heat.

"Definitely not." Ace choked out, spitting in the bowl. "Why am I in your room?" She asked, sitting back on the dirty floor.

"Because you're too stupid to even sleep alone, apparently." Tig answered, still staring down at her. "I don't get it. You're one of the toughest bitches I know, smart, too. You ain't the only one he's letting down, so why am I the only one pissed off about it?"

"Guess I'm just not as smart or tough as you thought." Ace snorted, pressing the sleeve of her shirt to the bloody wound from the IV.

"So get smart for fucks sake, and get tough. If there's one thing I've learned from watching you two, it's that no matter how hard he tries, Killah ain't ever gonna be able quit you. Do you really want to be this weak and useless when he shows back up? Cuz he will."

"I didn't want to be here at all when he showed back up, but you and Kozik blocked that avenue." Ace pointed out bitterly.

"Oh boo fucking hoo, sweetheart. I'd've forced him to man up and stay if I'd known what he was up to, but all I got is you to work with, and I'm counting on you putting him straight, so get your stupid ass off the floor and clean yourself up." Tig hauled her up by her arm, and followed her across the hall to her room.

"You planning on watching?" Ace sassed, but Tig ignored her, going to the nightstand and picking up the gun.

"Get in the goddamn shower and get dressed. Don't even think about trying to sleep off that hangover, you fucking earned that shit." He told her, and slammed the door for good measure.

**No Other Man Alive**

"Juice. Juice, wake up, that's your prepay." Jenna's voice pulled Juice from sleep and he groaned, reaching for the phone on the nightstand. It stopped ringing before he could land on it. He opened his eyes to locate it and checked the number. It wasn't one he recognized, and he groaned, sitting up. Jenna was nursing the baby, and he leaned over to kiss her, then the little fuzzy head at her breast.

Juice pulled his laptop from under the bed where he'd shoved it the night before, and went to work trying to track down the number. Prepaid tracphone, the area code placed it in Reno, but the satellite put the caller somewhere between San Clemente and…

"Fallbrook." He said out loud. "Shit, that's gotta be Happy."

Jenna looked at him, worry plain in her eyes. Juice opened the top drawer of his dresser and rifled the contents until he came up with another prepaid. He sat back down on the bed and grabbed the first phone to pull the number and dialed.

"Yo, I need some intel." Happy's voice was worse than usual, it sounded like he was choking more than talking.

"What are you doing in Cali, Hap?" Juice asked, rubbing his old lady's knee comfortingly.

"Recon, shithead, you gonna help me or what?" Juice wasn't any stranger to Happy's attitude, but this was a harder Happy than he'd seen in years.

"Yeah of course. What do you need to know?" Juice pulled the laptop back up on his pillow, pinning the phone between his ear and shoulder.

"I need to know how Carlos Rivera was connected enough to pull off what he did to Ace." Juice stopped short, because he'd already dug up that grave. He looked over his shoulder at Jenna before returning his attention to Happy.

"Yeah, of course, brother. It'll take me a little bit. Is this a good number for you?" Juice asked, putting the laptop back on the floor.

"Yeah." Happy didn't say anything else, just hung up the phone. Juice stared at his phone for a minute before flipping it shut.

"What's wrong?" Jenna asked quietly. "Is Ace alright?"

"I don't know, but I think Happy's thinking about going after the guy who took her without any backup." He told her, disturbed by the call. He looked searchingly at his old lady and opened his mouth, but she cut him off.

"Go." She told him. "Take as long as you need to, we'll be fine."

"You're the best." Juice grinned at her, and kissed her again.

"Don't forget it." Jenna sighed, and watched as Juice threw together a backpack and got dressed. It worried her more than she would let on that most of what went into the backpack was firearms and not clothing.

"What am I supposed to tell Jax when he figures out you're gone?" Jenna asked from the bed.

"Anything but the truth." Juice kissed her again, shoving the throwaway netbook in the bag. "I'll pick up a phone on the road and call you with the number. I love you."

"Love you, too."

**No Other Man Alive**

Tig was waiting for her in the hallway when she emerged, pale and a little shaky from puking. She had been sorely tempted by the bed, but she didn't think she wanted to find out what Tig would do to her if she didn't follow his directions.

"You look like shit." He commented. "Come on."

Ace followed him down the hallway to the clubhouse. He didn't bother looking back at her, just ducked behind the bar and headed for the kitchen.

"Sit your stupid ass down somewhere." He ordered her and went for the fridge, pulling out eggs and sausage and peppers.

"Uh, Tig, I don't think I can eat." Ace wrinkled her nose, and pushed herself up on the counter as far from the stove as she could get.

"You're going to eat every single fucking bite and if you puke it back up, I will pour that shit right back down your throat."

Ace silently watched as Tig cracked eggs and cooked. He definitely knew his way around a kitchen, and she thought that if she wasn't so hungover, the scramble he was working on would probably smell pretty great. They didn't talk until he shoved the plate into her hands and leaned back on the counter opposite her, watching.

"I didn't know you could cook." Ace commented, and shoveled the first bite in. Her gag reflex was on high alert, but she forced the eggs down.

"I was a Marine, I can fucking feed myself." Tig commented, nodding at her to keep eating. Ace's eyebrows rose, but she didn't say anything, just studied him for a minute before getting back to work on her food. When she'd polished off the eggs, Ace held out the empty plate, then opened her mouth so Tig could see she'd swallowed it all. He took the plate and dropped it in the sink. "Come on."

Ace followed him toward a part of the clubhouse she hadn't been in before. He opened a door to an interior staircase and started down. The room he entered was dark, and Ace felt a little uneasy following him in.

"Nervous, sweetheart?" Tig sneered at her, and she lifted her chin defiantly. "That's right, tough bitch."

When he flicked the lights on, Ace saw that this was an amateur gym setup. There was a boxing ring and all kinds of weights and bags around the room.

"What am I here for, Tigger?" Ace sighed, growing weary of the mystery routine. Tig pulled out a roll of tape and came to stand in front of her.

"The night you got snatched up, what happened?" Tig asked her. "Give me your hands."

"What do you mean what happened?" Ace snorted, and let Tig tape up her hands.

"Walk me through it. I left Redwood after Hap, what happened next?"

"Uh, I walked back to the motel."

"Shark didn't give you a ride?" Tig questioned, balling her hands into fists.

"No. He was there when I got there. Why does this matter?" Ace questioned back, as Tig slid mitts on his hands.

"Did you fuck him?" Tig came back at her, his face impassive.

"You fucking asshole. No, I did not fuck Shark." She spat at him.

"Yeah? You pissed off, yet?" Tig started crowding her, forcing her off balance. "That's what Happy thinks, isn't it?"

"Shut up." She growled, and this time, Tig reached out and shoved her, and Ace knocked his hand away with a forearm.

"No. He left your stupid ass because he thinks you were fucking his brother behind his back." This time when he went to push her, Ace struck back.

"Fuck you."

"Oh you'd like that, wouldn't you?" Tig taunted, and managed to smack her on the side of the head. "Come on, you want to hit me, yet?"

Ace didn't even hesitate, just swung as hard as she could. Tig swatted her away easily. She tried again, and again he deflected the blow.

"Kozik's right, you hit like a girl." Tig smacked her on the ass, ducking underneath the hook she threw wildly. "Come on, tell me what happened. Shark was there. Where was your gun? I know you carried that shit, you pulled it on my brother."

"I put my bag on the dresser when Shark went to get ice for my face." Ace grunted, starting to try to find an opening.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that, Killah smacked the shit out of you, didn't he?" Tig laughed openly at her, and this time he barely dodged out of the way.

"Why are you doing this?" Ace dropped her guard and Tig went for her face, not trying to hurt her, just making the point that he could.

"Because you're acting like a dumb bitch. What happened next?" Tig swatted her hands back up and Ace breathed deep, blowing it out of her nose before taking off after Tig again.

"I went into the bathroom to wash my face." Ace hissed, dodging as Tig came back at her. "When I looked up, my face got slammed into the mirror."

"How'd they get in the room?" Tig grunted, taking a body shot and nodding approvingly at her.

"Door was open. Thought Shark was watching my back."

"That's where you fucked up." Tig told her, finally laying off of her. He crossed his arms over his chest. Ace moved fast, clipping Tig's jaw. He was faster, though, he flung the mitts off and yanked her back against him. He held her forearms crossed across her chest, and she struggled against his grip, growling like an animal. "Your old man treated you like shit, and you acted like a stupid bitch and got snatched up. So what. Are you going to just keep letting shit happen to you? What happens when Killah comes back and does it again, huh? You gonna drown yourself in whiskey and let Hap stomp all over that fine ass?"

Tig stopped talking in her ear when she went limp, sobs wracking her body, now his grip on her was holding her up. He let her cry herself out, then picked her up and set her back on her feet. He pulled his shirt off and wiped her face with it. Ace stood still, letting him clean up her face, and then he got a pair of scissors and cut the tape off of her hands.

"You done?" Tig asked her, her chest still heaving. Ace nodded, setting her jaw. "Good. That's the last time your bitch ass is crying over someone who left you without looking back. Got it?"

"Why are you doing this?" Ace asked him again.

"I told you, I'm counting on you to put him back together. As much as I fucking hate you for it, you know him better than anyone else, and you're not gonna be able to get him right if you keep letting him roll right over you." Tig rubbed his jaw where she'd cracked him.

"So it's all about you, then, huh?" Ace snorted weakly. "Oh God, I feel like shit."

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy was deciding what the fuck he was going to do to Juice if the Puerto Rican jackass ever got around to calling him back. It had been six fucking hours since he'd hung up with him, and he wasn't even answering his phone. Happy was about to dial again when someone pounded on the motel room door, and he froze.

Happy slid off of the bed, putting the cigarette out in the ashtray and pulling on the gloves next to the bed and picking up his SIG. He stayed low as he moved the curtains the barest inch to look out.

"Jesus Christ." He groaned, spotting Juice's Harley next to his truck. He unlocked the door and threw it open. "I asked for intel, not a fucking sleepover, get in here."

"Yeah, well you sounded like you were in the shit. Ace isn't with you?" Juice said, looking around the room.

"Does it look like she's here?" Happy barked at him.

"No." Juice pulled a joint out and handed it to him. "You need to chill out."

"Fuck you." But Happy lit it anyway, because Juice was right, he was wound way too fucking tight. "Did you get the intel I asked for at least?"

"Yeah, man, I started digging into it after you guys left." Juice unpacked the netbook, plugging it in and pushing a thumb drive into it. "Here." He passed it over to Happy.

"What the fuck is this shit?" Happy asked, passing the joint over to Juice and taking the computer.

"It's good, right? From the shop." Juice grinned and sat on the bed closest to the door, finishing off the joint.

"Holy shit, that little fucktard is related to the head of the entire operation. That's his pull." Happy scanned the document that Juice had opened, scratching his head.

"Fucktard?" Juice laughed.

"Shut up." Happy shot back, passing the computer back. He picked up the ring box that had been sitting on the nightstand, spinning it between finger and thumb, the high making the movement far more fascinating to watch than it should have been.

"What's that?" Juice asked, nodding to it. Happy flipped it across the nightstand to Juice.

"Ace's ring. She kicked me out." Happy put an arm over his face, too tired to get pissed off over Juice's weed making him run his mouth. "Wouldn't wear the ring."

"She wouldn't wear it because it'd be fucking huge on her." Juice high pitched laugh was close to a giggle.

"What are you talking about, asshole?" Happy groaned, and lifted his head to look over at Juice, who was pulling a ring out of the box. Definitely not the ring that had been on Ace's nightstand. "Let me see that."

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace finished the sandwich that Tig had shoved at her, and handed the plate back. He dropped two white pills in her hand and cracked open a water bottle. Ace looked at him questioningly.

"It's fucking Tylenol for your head." Tig rolled his eyes at her.

"Is this what we're doing every single meal?" Ace asked, swallowing the pills and half the water.

"Until you start taking care of yourself, yeah. You're too fucking skinny." Tig told her.

"I guess that's fair." Ace replied, and caught a glimpse of Kozik past the bar. She hopped down from the counter and grabbed her bag, throwing it over her shoulder.

It was still pretty early, not many Sons were in the clubhouse, but Ace felt self conscious crossing to where Kozik was sitting in one of the leather club chairs. She smiled tightly at Lorca, who was sitting across the coffee table. Kozik gave her a weird look, but Ace bent over and whispered her request in his ear.

"You're sure?" He asked, surprised, and Ace rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Let's go, I know exactly where to take you."

Kozik followed Ace out of the clubhouse, not oblivious to the notice they'd attracted, but he wasn't about to give Ace time to change her mind and chicken out. This time when he handed her his helmet, she didn't hesitate to slide behind him and wrap her hands in his cut. He knew that there would be a reckoning when Happy made it back, but Kozik was so pissed off at him for pulling the stunt he had that he was looking forward to it.

"Let's go." He told her and headed out into Tacoma.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	32. Chapter 32

**Disclaimer-As much as I would love to keep Happy and the rest of the Sons, I don't actually own them. Except for my OCs. And Kozik, since Mr. Kurt Sutter keeps blowing up poor KJ. I also don't own Evil Ink, but I'm borrowing the name.**

Kozik left her sitting on his ride and ducked into Evil Ink, nodding to the tight little blonde cutie behind the counter.

"Eddie with anyone?" He asked her, turning backwards and flashing her a charming smile.

"No, he's alone, can I tell him who is-" But Kozik waved her off and headed for Eddie's office, knocking on the doorframe.

"Herman Kozik! What brings you to my humble establishment?" Eddie stood and hugged him, and Kozik slapped him on the back enthusiastically.

"I need a favor, Eddie." Kozik told him and motioned for Eddie to follow him to the front of the shop, stopping when they had a clear view of Ace, still sitting on Kozik's bitch seat.

"You got yourself an old lady?" Eddie smiled at him.

"Hell no. That one belongs to Happy." Kozik said, laughing as Eddie's face went from surprised to flabbergasted.

"What's she doing with you then? And what do you need from me?" Eddie was putting the pieces together pretty quickly, one of the things that Kozik liked about him.

"She's an artist, needs a job, I thought maybe you could help her out." Kozik said.

"Is she any good?" Eddie scoffed. "I can't put a gun in her hand if she sucks, Kozik."

"She's done a lot of the Killah's ink. Just check out her portfolio, you'll see." Kozik dared him.

"Well if Happy trusts her with ink, it's the least I can do." Eddie started toward the door with the intention of calling the girl in, but Kozik grabbed him by the back of the shirt, halting his progress.

"Listen, Eddie, she's been through some serious shit lately, and her and Hap are going through some stuff. I'm trusting you to take care of her when she's here, and I don't think I have to tell you what Happy would do if anything happened his girl here, do I?" Kozik's voice was low, and left no doubt that he was deadly serious.

"I understand. What's her name?" Eddie asked, starting for the door again.

"Ace Perez." Kozik grinned when Eddie looked shocked again. "Yeah, you heard me."

**No Other Man Alive**

Juice snapped the ring box shut and passed it over, confused. Happy took it and stared at it for a long minute before he opened it. Inside was a heavy, plain black Titanium band, large enough to fit his hand.

"That sneaky little bitch." Happy marveled and pulled it out.

"Why did Ace kick you out?" Juice asked, sitting up and facing him, eyes narrowed.

"Because I fucking suck at being an old man." Happy told him, rolling the ring along his palm. "You seem to have that shit down."

"From what Jenna tells me, Ace thinks you hung the moon, I can't imagine anything you could do to change that." Juice pointed out, sparking another joint and passing it over. This time, whenever Happy passed it back to him, he just held onto it for a minute and then passed it back. Happy was too busy watching the ring to notice.

"I accused her of fucking Shark. But it wasn't just that, you know. I can't keep my head on straight around her, I feel like all I do is screw her over. What the fuck is in this?" Happy cut himself off with iron force of will.

"It's just a locally harvested hydroponic." Juice told him, putting it out. "So what's with the ring?"

"I told her I wouldn't wear one, so she refused to wear one, either." Happy yawned, and then grinned. "Apparently she gives as good as she gets."

"So she bought you a wedding ring and then kicked you out?" Juice didn't even try to mask the skepticism in his voice. He waited a long time for Happy to answer, but the hardcore assassin was asleep, hand wrapped around the ring and his gun on his chest. "Poor bastard."

**No Other Man Alive**

Kozik dropped Ace off and headed back out to find Bowie, he knew that speculation was probably running wild about his involvement with Ace and he needed to make sure that his President was going to back him. He always liked riding into Bowie's gated community, the MC made the security guards nervous as hell, and he always made a point to rev a little harder here. Bowie did the same, and it really chafed the asses of Tacoma's well moneyed business men.

"Thought I heard you, sugar!" Cat was in the front yard, with gardening gloves and a gigantic hat on, and still managed to look like she belonged on the Upper East Side. She peeled her gloves off and wrapped her arms around Kozik, rubbing his back as he hugged her back.

"Hey Cat, is Bowie in?" He asked her, kissing her on the cheek.

"Sure is. You alright, sugar? You look tired." Cat asked, tucking her arm into his and pulling him toward the house.

"Nah, I'm fine. Just gotta talk to him about this shit with Killah and Ace." He told her, yanking the brim of her hat down playfully before heading inside to find his President. He missed the flash of a frown across her face.

"Yo, Prez!" Kozik called, closing the door behind him and dodging around the table in the entryway with its huge flower arrangement.

"Study." Bowie answered, and Kozik toed off his boots before he headed up the stairs. Tacoma Sons might be hard riding, foul mouthed, and violent, but not a single one would risk tracking dirt on Cat's white carpet, not even Bowie himself.

Bowie was sitting at his desk, smoking a cigar and shuffling through some paperwork. He put the papers aside when Kozik came in, though. "What can I do for you, Koz?"

"Just checking in on this shit with Happy." Kozik answered, dropping into a chair and accepting the cigar Bowie flipped to him.

"Yeah? Is his old lady gonna be a problem for me?" Bowie asked cynically. "If she is, she's gotta go."

"Nah, Ace high will be fine." Kozik told him, shrugging off the raised eyebrow.

"Has anyone tracked Happy down, yet?" Bowie sighed, rubbing his temple.

"Nah, Tiggy talked to Quinn, Hap hasn't checked in with him." Kozik told him. "He's still in the wind."

"Any ideas on where he would go? Did anyone check his mother's place?" Bowie had clearly been letting Happy's whereabouts weigh on his mind.

"Happy is Quinn's problem, not yours." Kozik reminded his president.

"He's going to be my problem when he comes back and kills one of you for fucking his old lady." Bowie pointed out drily.

"No one is fucking Happy's old lady. I don't even think Happy is fucking his old lady." Kozik laughed, puffing on the cigar.

"You can't tell me that there hasn't been some questionable shit going on with that broad." Bowie said. "I can't put this charter at risk, you know that."

"Sure, there's a little line crossing, but that shit lands on Happy. If he wanted an opinion on how his old lady was going to be treated in his absence, he should have stuck around."

"You will not let this blow back on my charter. Any trouble, and I'm calling Quinn to come pick her up, got it?" Bowie stabbed the cigar out in the ashtray on the desk, between them.

"Absolutely, Prez." Kozik agreed.

**No Other Man Alive**

"Uh-uh, I don't think so." Tig plucked the bottle from Ace's hand.

"I promise I won't drink the whole thing." Ace rolled her eyes, trying to snatch it back.

"Not a fucking chance in hell, sweetheart. Come on." Tig dragged her down the hallway to his room. "Where'd you go with Kozik?"

"To get a job." Ace answered, flopping down on Tig's bed and watching him as he pulled a prescription bottle with no label from the medicine cabinet, and then filled up a Solo cup with water from the tap.

"Did you get one?" Tig asked her, sitting on the edge of the bed. He put the cup on the nightstand and opened the bottle, shaking a pill out.

"Of course. You've seen my work, I'm awesome." Ace scoffed, all false bravado.

"Open." Tig ordered her, dropping the pill in her mouth and handing her the cup. She took it and swallowed the pill down.

"Should I be worried that you just roofied me?" Ace asked, sitting up.

"Actually, I kind of did. Sleeping pills." Tig grinned at her. "Go to bed."

**No Other Man Alive**

"What the hell did you give me?" Happy groaned, sitting up. It was full dark outside, which meant that he was late for his shift warming a bar stool.

"It was just weed, man, I swear." Juice told him, closing the laptop.

"Get up, we're going out." Happy told him, rolling off of his bed. "Tell me you brought a hat to cover that shit on your head."

"Yeah, I'm not stupid. What are we doing?" Juice stomped his boots back on, ignoring the dickhead look Happy shot him.

"Getting a drink and watching." Happy told him, looking at the ring in his hand again like he'd just remembered he was holding it. He dropped it in his pocket and slid into his holster, then zipping the hoodie up to his chin. Juice followed him out to the truck and got in, pulling his own hat down and checking to make sure his ink was covered.

"Why don't you just wear the ring, man?" Juice asked him, spinning his own wedding band on his finger.

"Told her I wouldn't. I already let her put her name in my skin." Happy shrugged and pulled the truck out toward Fallbrook.

"So if you already did that, what's the big fucking deal about the ring? It's not like you don't already wear rings, what's one more?" Juice pointed out, and Happy gave him a sideways look that was half snarl.

"You ain't as dumb as you look." Happy commented.

**No Other Man Alive**

"Rise and shine, dollface!" Tig kicked the door repeatedly until Ace opened it, hair a tangled mess and eyes only half open. She squinted up at him in confusion.

"It's eight o'clock in the morning. Why are we awake?" She asked.

"Because you're going to eat and hit stuff." Tig answered, like this should have been obvious. "Get dressed."

Ace closed the door in his face and strongly considered just going back to bed, but experience had taught her that Tig wasn't going to let her get away with that. He'd just find a way to let himself in and drag her out. In the bathroom, she splashed water on her face and stared at her reflection in the mirror, it was funny how you could feel so different on the inside and still look like nothing had changed. Groaning, she pulled her jeans on and the one sports bra she had, since her boobs were still sore from all the braless time she'd been giving them, and then added another long sleeved shirt. She carried her boots down the hall to where Tig was cooking in the kitchen.

"What's on the menu today, Chef Tigger?" She snarked, hopping up to her accustomed place on the counter.

"You know, I like you a lot better when you're too drunk to talk." He said, dumping a plate in her lap.

"Then I guess you shouldn't keep taking away my whiskey." Ace snorted, and set to work on the food. "How many more days do we have to do this?"

"Until I say so or your old man shows up, whichever comes first." Tig said, leaning with his back to the counter, next to her.

"So only a week and a half left on babysitting duty. You must be psyched."

Tig looked at her quickly, eyes narrowed. "You've heard from him?"

"No, definitely not." Ace laughed. "He has an appointment to get his cast off. There's no way he will miss it and push back riding."

"You are a scary bitch, you know that, right?" Tig asked her, eyebrows coming together.

"Uh, no." Ace said, giving him a sideways look.

"You working tonight?" Tig changed the subject, taking her empty plate and putting it in the sink.

"Yeah. Six to close. Eddie put some of my stuff up on the website, so maybe I'll actually get some decent work." Ace mused, pulling her boots on and jumping down.

"That shithead treating you alright?" Tig asked, following her down the stairs.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure Kozik told him who I was, though." Ace told him, and tossed the roll of tape to Tig, presenting her hands for wrapping.

"That a bad thing?" Tig asked, pulling on the mitts.

"It's a dishonest thing. We aren't together." Ace answered, starting to throw punches at the mitts.

"Nah, that's not how this works. You guys are together until Happy says you're not." Tig said, keeping Ace moving.

"That's stupid." Ace grunted, trying to control the movements and put Tig on the retreat.

"No, you're stupid if you think he's gonna quit you after all the bullshit he's gone through to get you. A man don't let some punk break his hand over a girl he ain't planning on keeping." Tig was shaking his head, pushing back at her.

"Well I'm sure he did at the time." Ace snapped.

"Jesus Christ, what the hell did you two say to each other?" Tig said, putting more and more pressure on her until she was sweating.

"He accused me of cheating on him. Ouch!" Ace winced as Tig caught her in the side with the flat of the mitt, and then swiped the sweat off of her brow, where it was dripping in her eyes. "Jesus, Tig, lay off for a second."

"No." He swatted her on the side of the head.

"I can't fucking see!" She growled at him.

"And you think if someone comes at you again, they're going to wait for you to be ready? Time out bad guys, I'm schvitzing!" He mocked her in a ridiculous falsetto. "I told you what we were doing, it's not my fault you were stupid enough to wear jeans and long sleeves."

"Fuck you, Tigger." Ace snorted, trying to dodge back far enough to get some breathing room. She pulled the hem of her shirt up, trying to get it off before Tig recovered, but just as she got it over her head, he kicked her feet out from under her. "Oof."

Ace lay flat on her back, shirt tangled in her arms, up over her head. Tig didn't offer to help her, just stood over her. She finished pulling the shirt off and wiped her face with it. "That was a seriously dickhead move." She snorted, and then started laughing. She stayed flat on her back, laughing until tears ran down her cheeks, while Tig stared at her like she'd lost her fucking mind. Maybe she had.

"Tell me she didn't hit her head." Kozik asked, coming down the stairs.

"I'm fine, Kozik." Ace gasped and put her hand out for an assist. Tig didn't help her, so she rolled on all fours and pushed herself back up. The scar on her side was jagged, and still the purple red of healing flesh.

"Which one did that?" Kozik asked, nodding at the scar. "One of the dead ones?"

"I wouldn't know. I know Rivera wasn't there, but he never told me anything else." Ace answered and rolled her eyes when Tig slapped her elbows, forcing her guard up. She noticed the look that passed from Tig to Kozik, she was getting weirdly used to watching them have conversations without saying a word. She still thought they would make a tremendous couple. "Either tell me what happened or quit eyefucking each other, it's annoying."

"Anyone ever tell you that you're smart mouth bitch?" Tig asked, dropping a shoulder to try and ram her in the stomach, but Ace managed to get him with a good one on the back of his head, which left Kozik wheezing on the stairs.

"Just you, Tigger." Ace panted, out of breath. "Wait, no, that's a lie. My first husband did, too. Like a _lot_."

"We got most of them when we went to get Hap." Kozik told her, a little solemnly. "But Rivera had already left, and so had that gash from Indian Hills."

"Are they still alive?" Ace asked, letting Tig cut the tape off of her hands.

"Dollface, I don't think Happy would be in the wind if they weren't." Tig told her, and he noticed the weird look that passed over her features.

"Is that what you two think he's doing?" She asked, sitting down at Kozik's feet.

"Well he's not at his mom's, Quinn hasn't heard from him, and he didn't go down to Charming. Where else would he go?" Kozik asked rhetorically.

"Are you sure he isn't still in Tacoma holed up with some Jack and a fuckbuddy?" Ace asked, wiping the sweat off of her chest and stomach with the balled up shirt, then headed up the stairs without waiting for an answer.

"Hey!" Kozik called after her. "Do you not understand who we are? He couldn't hide out in my city for an hour before I'd be dragging him back."

"Yeah, you keep thinking that." Ace snorted, not turning around. "I'm going to take a shower."

**No Other Man Alive**

"Exactly what are you expecting to find out that you haven't already?" Juice asked, following Happy into the bar they'd been haunting.

"Unless you've tracked down Rivera, then we're still looking for him." Happy answered, stopping outside to light a cigarette. Juice shook his head and leaned back against the building.

"Dude, why don't you just go back to Tacoma? You know I'll track this guy down eventually, and you'll be the first one to know." Juice told him, and rolled his eyes when Happy glared at him. "Have you even checked in, yet?"

"Have you?" Happy shot back.

"My old lady knows where I am." Juice muttered, and clutched his stomach when Happy backhanded him with the cast.

"Where does Jax think you are?" Happy asked him, looking back over his shoulder across the street to where his cut was hanging.

"On a buying trip, I think. Jenna purposely gave him a wrong number." Juice answered.

"How long can she hold him off?" Happy asked, curious, trying to put Ace in that position. He figured that she could probably stonewall a charter President without blinking an eye, with all her single minded focus.

"A while. If she thinks he's going to push her for information, she'll call." Juice told him, and Happy was impressed with Juice's calm confidence in his old lady. Jenna wasn't cut from the same cloth as Gemma or Cat, but he knew that Ace had leaned on her in Charming and that was a pretty solid endorsement.

"Can you reach out to Parada?" Happy asked, finished with his smoke, but not moving to go into the bar. He put his hand in his pocket and spun the ring around a fingertip.

"Romeo? Sure, but Jax will hear about it before I'm even off the phone." Juice shrugged, shifting his weight, trying to figure out what they were doing just standing around on the street.

"Fuck it, you're right, this is just jerking off. Come on." Happy said, gaze still across the street. Three Bastardos came out of the pool hall, and instead of moving off to avoid notice, this time Happy stood his ground, not hiding that he was watching.

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace stopped short in the doorway to the bathroom, towel wrapped around her, thank God. Tig was flipping through her sketchbook and sitting on the bed.

"Uh, what are you doing, Tig?" Ace asked, crossing her arms over her chest and keeping a really tight grip on the towel. It was like a sucker punch to the gut remembering the way Happy had stripped the towel from her in the shower. She wished like hell that her pussy would have cooperated that day, it felt like if they had found their footing on that side of things, maybe Happy wouldn't have left when shit got all fucked up.

"Making sure you're not about to slit your wrists or something." Tig said, and flipped the book around. "I like this."

"Ok. Why do you think I'm suddenly suicidal?" Ace asked, and grabbed her clothes, retreating back to the bathroom.

"I know you got all fuckin' weird over hearing about Rivera and the hooker." Tig called.

"Not at all, Tigger, I'm fine." Ace said, pulling the tank down over her stomach, checking the mirror to make sure it reached her waistband. She ran a hand through her hair, making a face at the memory of all the times he'd done it, stroking through it absentmindedly while they lay in bed. "They'll both get what's coming for them."

"You know you sound just like him, right?" Tig said when she came out of the bathroom. "It's fucking creepy."

"I'm nothing like him." Ace spat, voice venomous.

"Riiight." Tig snickered.

"Come on, let's get some food, I'm starved." Ace said, sliding her arms into her hoodie, there was no way she was walking around with his name all over her. Bad enough that she had to face the lie branded on her stomach every single day.

**No Other Man Alive**

Juice groaned and pulled a pillow over the back of his head. It had to be close to six in the morning, and Happy was driving him up a fucking wall with his pacing. As the days wore on, Happy had been sleeping less and less at night, and drinking more than usual. He never got sloppy or out of control, just more self contained and if anything, scarier.

"Dude. If you have to keep pacing, go do it outside." Juice mumbled from under the pillow. "Better yet, smoke a joint and go the fuck to sleep."

"I would, but that shit you brought makes me talk too much." Happy complained, but lay down on the bed anyway.

Juice flopped over on his back and sighed loudly. "Just call her. Or better yet, go back to Tacoma and talk to her."

"No. Not until I've got this shit settled with Parada and the Reds." Happy said, voice hard.

"You're an idiot." Juice stated matter of factly.

"The fuck did you just say to me?" Happy was on his feet in a heartbeat, and Juice sat up to face him.

"I said you're an idiot. You can kick my ass for it if you want, but that won't change it. You're so blinded by what they did to her that I bet you can't even see what you're doing to her."

"Fuck you. My old lady knows where she stands with me." Happy backed up a step to make sure he didn't follow through on the impulse to grab Juice by the throat.

"Dude. You accused her of cheating and then skipped town. Ace is a tough chick, but I don't think any chick is that tough." Juice told him, and lay back down, closing his eyes.

Happy stood there speechless, turning what Juice had said over in his mind. He finally left the room, throwing a shirt over his shoulder. He wasn't particularly concerned anymore whether anyone knew who he was. He sat on the tailgate of the truck, watching the sun rise, fiddling with the phone in his hand for a long time. When the sun was all the way over the horizon, he flipped the phone open and dialed before he could pussy out. It didn't even ring, just went straight to the stock voicemail greeting that he'd never bothered to change. He hung up without bothering to leave a message. He considered trying Tig's phone, but knew that doing that would have far reaching repercussions, so he put the phone away and lay back, closing his eyes. At least this bed had the advantage of being out under the sky.

**No Other Man Alive**

"Ace high, come on, you're gonna be-" Kozik called, stopping when the door flew open. "Whoa. That's different."

Ace pulled her long, newly brunette hair over her shoulder. She'd taken the time to blow it out and without the curls, it was even longer. The deep hue changed her whole look, her eyes and skin looked paler against the all the dark.

"Well that's exactly what I was going for, Koz." Ace smiled and stepped back. "Give me two seconds to get my shit together."

Kozik watched Ace as she grabbed her sketch book, shoving it in her bag. She pulled on the hoodie she'd been hiding her ink behind, and grabbed something off of the dresser.

"Hey." He stopped her and held his hand out. "What's that?"

Ace looked at him suspiciously for a minute, then shrugged and dropped it into his hand. She slung her bag over her shoulder.

"We ready?" She asked him, daring him to comment on the ring he was studying.

"Sure." Kozik said, handing it back to her, studying her while she put the ring in her pocket without looking at it. "I brought the car."

"Is it raining?" Ace asked, locking the door and pulling it closed.

"No, but I'm really attached to my balls, Ace high." Kozik laughed, then laughed harder at her confused look. "I've been letting my brother's old lady ride my bitch seat all over Tacoma, in case he was close enough that word would get back to him. Clearly, he ain't in the area or he'd've shown his face to kick my ass for that already, but that don't mean I'm gonna keep pushing my luck."

"You really think he'll care?" Ace scoffed, sliding into the front seat and pulling her feet in so Kozik could shut the door.

"About the only thing I could do to disrespect Happy further would be to actually sleep with you." Kozik answered, no longer joking, but very solemn.

"So why did you do it, then?" Ace pulled her feet up Indian style, angling toward Kozik.

"I couldn't think of any leverage more powerful than you." Kozik shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "And I'm fucking pissed off at him for the way he's acting."

"Me, too." Ace snorted.

"Yeah, you fucking should be."

**No Other Man Alive**

"Meet is set for tomorrow." Juice nudged Happy awake as the sun was starting to go down. He'd tried to wake the bastard earlier, but Happy hadn't budged. This time he came awake immediately, sitting straight up, and Juice gave him room to orient himself.

"Where?" Happy asked.

"Santa Maria, down the coast." Juice answered. "Nine."

"Yeah, that'll work. You sure you don't want to just head back to Redwood. Jax ain't gonna be happy to see you with me tomorrow." Happy offered Juice an out, he knew the kid had put his own ass on the line and didn't want him to catch too much shit for it.

"Nah, Jax is going to be pissed at me no matter what I do." Juice shook his head.

"If you ever decide Redwood ain't for you, man, I'll put in a word with Bowie for you." Happy offered.

"I might have to take you up on that. Shit hasn't been right since I went behind his back and gave you Ace's location. It makes Jenna nervous." Juice told him.

"Just say the word, brother." Happy told him. "What kind of firepower did you bring?"

"My regular pieces and an MP7, club stock." Juice answered, looking nervous. "What are the weapons for if Rivera isn't here?"

"Are you any closer to finding out where he is?" Happy ignored the question.

"I know he switched IDs headed to the East Coast. Still working the rest of it." Juice told him, following Happy into the room.

"Good. Pack your shit, we're gonna get a little dirty before we leave." Happy told him, folding his clothes meticulously and putting them in his bag.

"What do you mean dirty? Like how dirty?" Juice asked suspiciously.

"Find me a hardware store, off the grid, one of those little mom and pop places." Happy grinned, starting to look forward to the night's work.

**No Other Man Alive**

"Hey, dollface, you busy?" Tig looked into the space Ace had taken over at Evil Ink. She was leaning back in her chair, boots up the desk, back to the door.

"Do I look busy, Tigger?" She asked, hanging her head back to look at him, upside down.

"No, you looked bored. What's with the hair?" Tig asked, yanking on her hair. Ace sat up fast, flipping the hood up.

"Needed a change, that's all." Ace shrugged, eyeing Tig carefully. "What are you doing here, Tig?"

"I wanted some ink, came to the best." Tig smiled charmingly, and Ace lifted an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "That and I wanted to talk to you."

"What's with you and Kozik trying to push Happy's buttons?" Ace sighed. "I'm not stepping between you and him if he flips out when he sees it."

"Don't worry about me, I can handle the Killah." Tig smiled, looking a little off of his rocker.

"Mmm hmm, you really believe that?" Ace snorted. "I'll do your ink and I'll listen to whatever you have to say. What are we doing? I'll talk more if you make it big."

"Toss me your book. Do I get the friends and family discount?" Tig asked, flipping the book open to the bulldog with the Do or Die collar he'd seen earlier.

"Hell no, Tigger." She snorted, laughing when he shot her a wounded look. "I need the money."

"Mercenary bitch. How long will this take?"

"Depends on how big you want it and where. And I swear to God if you say your ass, I'm going to tattoo something very large and very gay on it." Ace warned, starting to pull things out for the piece.

"That's cute, sweetheart. Nah, back of the shoulder, big as you can make it in under three hours." Tig told her, and handed her his cut, which she held for a minute before going back to what she was doing.

"Cool. Hop down, shirt off." Ace ordered absentmindedly, opening her drawers and pulling out inks. "Do you need me to make a stencil or can I freehand this?"

"Nah, I trust you." Tig unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it at her head.

"Aw, I'm touched, Tiggy."

**No Other Man Alive**

"Yo, Bill!" Happy called, coming through the back door of the familiar tat shop. Everything in this place screamed Ace at him. Years of coming through this door to see her, tying her in with all the shit he did for his club. He missed the quiet with her. Her space was filled up with some young guy with a shitload of piercings, it looked all wrong for anyone else to be there.

"Hey, Happy!" The old man pushed up from his desk, and shook Happy's hand. "How's our girl?"

"Uh, she's alright. It's been a weird coupla months, Bill." Happy shifted uncomfortably. "Listen, I have something I need to take care of in the neighborhood."

"Oh, I know where you're headed. Figured I see you sooner or later. What do you need?" Bill asked drily.

"Just want to leave two rides in your lot, we'll move out quickly. One truck, one Harley." Happy said, pulling an envelope from his pocket, but Bill shook his head.

"I'm not taking your money. Go do what you need to do, I never saw you or your vehicles." Bill clapped him on the shoulder.

"Thanks, Bill." Happy rasped, looking over his shoulder at Ace's old station one more time.

"Anytime. Give Ace my best."

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace loved the rhythm of tattooing, it always lulled her, whether she was one doing the work or not. Tig was leaning forward on the back of the chair, and she was on the rolling stool, legs to either side of his left hip. She leaned over for ink and leaned back over Tig's shoulder.

"We've been at this for almost an hour, Tigger, and you haven't said a word." Ace muttered, wiping down the field. "That's a lot of ink for the silent treatment."

"Sorry, dollface." Tig answered, looking over his shoulder, his face close to hers. "That thing earlier with Rivera and his bitch being in the wind, that bugged you, right?"

Ace looked up at him, sharply, a little startled to find him so close. "Well, yeah, of course it did."

"Why? You hafta know I wouldn't ever, I mean ever, let something happen to you again." He murmured.

"Tig, what happened to me wasn't your fault." Ace wiping the ink off of her glove and squeezing his arm.

"I don't know, if I had gone after you instead of him, might've changed things." Tig shook his head.

"Hey." Ace put her stuff down and snapped off her gloves, and rolled back far enough to look him in the eye. "If it wasn't that night, it would have been another one. I'm fine, Tigger, I promise."

"If you're so fine, then what's bugging you about those two being on the run? Your man isn't going to let them slip by him again." Tig told her, and rubbed a thumb across the thin scar under her left eye. Ace jerked her head back, out of his reach.

"Jesus Christ, it always comes back to him for you, doesn't it?" She snarled, and rolled to get another pair of gloves.

"What? You want to go after them yourself?" Tig snorted.

"Shut up and hold still, Tigger." Ace sighed.

**No Other Man Alive**

"How much longer are we going to lay here?" Juice whispered shifting around in the bed of dead leaves.

"Well, there's eight of them in there, dickhead, I was planning on waiting until the odds were a little better." Happy growled, and rolled like he was going to get up. "But if you wanna roll now, hero, let's go."

"No, I'm fine, get back down. Jenna will kill me if I get shot again." Juice muttered. "It's three, we can't wait much longer or we're not gonna make it to the meet."

"We'll make it, chill out." Happy told him. "I haven't been sitting in that bar drinking shitty beer for nothing. They leave one guy overnight, everyone else clears out by four at the latest."

"And the one they leave?" Juice asked, and Happy looked at him like an idiot.

"Dies a little quicker than the rest of them. What the fuck do you think I'm trying to do here?" Happy growled.

Before he rolled back down, Happy pulled the ring out of his pocket again, spinning it.

"Just put it on, already." Juice sighed, watching him. Happy glared at him, but did it anyway. It looked strange, plain on his hand. "Three more down."

Happy looked up from his hand, watching the three men get in their cars and drive off. These weren't young punks, they were older harder, first generation thugs. If he had two working hands, he would be in there finishing this shit, and fuck what their big name associates thought about it. It was probably a good thing he couldn't, if he caused any more shit for his club they'd probably put a bullet in the back of his head. He had to start reasoning instead of reacting. He looked down at his ring finger, spinning the black band around. He had to admit, it wasn't a bad band to wear if he had to wear one, completely different from the rest of his rings, but still fit.

"That's the last four." Juice murmured, and Hap nodded, settling in while they scattered.

"Go take a walk, make sure the front is dark." Hap ordered, getting to his feet, pulling his weapon. He waited for Juice to get to his feet before he crossed the lot to the back door, putting his back to the wall next to it. He breathed deeply, calming himself, ready to eliminate one more threat. He watched Juice come around the corner.

"All clear, just the one." Juice whispered, and Happy nodded.

"Don't let me get shot, I think Ace would kill us both." Happy laughed and held up three fingers, then two.

**No Other Man Alive**

"What if I did?" Ace asked, over an hour later. They'd both been silent for a long time.

"What? You want to go after Rivera?" Tig asked, looking back over his shoulder at her. "Are you serious?"

"I'm good with a gun." Ace said defensively. "And he can have Rivera. What Rivera did wasn't ever about me. I want that bitch."

"That's what you've been weird about all day? You think you got the balls for that, sweetheart?" Tig smirked at her.

"Just think about it, Tigger. It's the only thing I can think to do to take back what they did to me." Ace bargained. "Please, Tig."

"Quit for a second." He told her, and snagged her by the knee, pulling the stool around in front of him. He studied her face, and pulled the stool even closer, until they were barely inches apart. "If that's really what you want I'll look into it for you."

"Thanks, Tig." Ace breathed, and Tig kissed her on the forehead.

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy pulled a chair over to the wall, standing on it. He holstered his SIG and slid his hand between his leather and the wall, pulling the nails out, dropping the nails on the floor. He slid the cut on and the leather embraced him like a long time lover.

"Spray paint." He barked at Juice, who tossed it to him.

"You're sure you want to tag this?" Juice asked, looking nervous.

"Oh yeah. I want em to know I'm coming." Happy laughed, finishing off the big smiley face in place of his cut. He jumped down from the chair and stepped over the body on the floor and headed for the front door. "Come on, we got a long ride, brother."

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	33. Chapter 33

**Disclaimer-I do not own the Sons. But if I had to pick just one, I think you guys know who it would be. Blah, blah, my own creepy mind came up with this story and characters, so please try not to steal them. Thanks! Oh and I don't own **_**The Notebook,**_** either. Well I mean, I have a copy of it, but I don't own the right to it. You know what I mean. Get comfy, this is the longest, yet.**

"Why am I not surprised to find you two together?" Jax said drily when he and Opie arrived at the picnic area for the meet.

"My fault." Happy said, figuring the least he could do was take the heat for Juice taking off without checking in. Juice was asleep on a park bench under some trees. "Cut him a break, Jax."

"Not your call, brother. I'll deal with him back in Charming." Jax's face softened a little. "It's good to see you back in your cut."

"Feels good, too." Happy grinned. "Come one, I'll catch you up on what I'm asking for from the Red Nation."

**No Other Man Alive**

"Thanks for the ride, Kozik." Ace yawned as they pulled into the lot. Kozik looked at her sharply.

"You're not back to that nocturnal shit, are you?" He asked her, putting a hand over the seat belt release so that she couldn't get out.

"No, Tig successfully drugs me every night. Hardly even have nightmares anymore." Ace smiled at him.

"Good, that's good." Kozik mused thoughtfully. "If you're right, Killah will be back before the end of the week."

"I am right and he will be." Ace smirked, then sobered up. "Shit."

"Are you gonna be ready to see him?" Kozik asked, rubbing the blond scruff on his jaw.

"Nowhere close." Ace sighed. "I don't suppose you've reconsidered helping me skip town?"

"You know my hands are tied on that, Ace high." Kozik sighed and rolled down the window to smoke.

"Are we sitting in the car for a reason?" Ace asked, yawning again.

"I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place, here, Ace. Hap taking off like that was shitty, and not just to you, but he's still my brother."

"Am I messing that up?" Ace asked, a little horrified at the prospect.

"Not yet, but you hafta know he isn't going to just let you go. Decades of history doesn't just evaporate."

"No, but he told me he can't do this, so what am I supposed to do, huh, Kozik?" Ace threw her arms up, exasperated. "It's completely shitty that I have to sit around and wait to see if he still wants me, when frankly, I don't even know if I'd want him back."

"You're so blind when it comes to him." Kozik said, shaking his head.

"Whatever. I'm not going to argue this with you." Ace said, and opened the car door to let herself out. Before shutting it, she leaned back down. "You want to help me, find me someplace else to stay, it's going to be a couple weeks until I can afford my own place and I'm not staying in that room when he gets here."

**No Other Man Alive**

"Gentlemen." Romeo Parada and his associates were literally in the middle of the negotiation between the Sons and the Red Nation. "Jax Teller, President of Redwood Original, this is Manuel Hernandez, President, Los Angeles."

The two warily shook hands, neither ready to trust the other. Happy stepped into the mix and gestured to the cigar smoking Red Nation henchman hanging on the outskirts of the group.

"Your boy needs to go step off." He growled, and Jax shot him a what the fuck look. "He helped those assholes track Ace from Tacoma. You want this to go smoothly, he's out."

Manuel Hernandez nodded to the man, and he stepped away from the group, shaking his head. Happy watched him go, knowing that he couldn't follow, but damn did he want to.

"Romeo is a good friend to the Red Nation, but you have to understand, Mr. Teller, the Bastardos may be small, but they serve a purpose for my club." Hernandez said.

"I understand that, but they kidnapped and raped an old lady and broke my best man's throttle hand. There's no way we can let that go unpunished." Jax pointed out. "Happy is perfectly capable of taking their entire organization down without any help. We're not looking for permission here, Manuel, we just want to do what it takes to continue having a peaceful relationship between us out of respect for our mutual ties to Galindo."

"So what are the Sons offering us then to keep the peace?" Hernandez asked, folding his arms.

"There is a small club in Mission Viejo, the Rebel Kings that can handle the business you were using the Bastardos for. They're a brother club, and they've agreed to it already, at the same percentage you were giving those assholes in Fallbrook. It's a geographically smarter move for you, anyway." Jax offered.

Hernandez stepped away to discuss this with his second in command, but they knew that Romeo had already smoothed this one over, so Happy wasn't stressed about it.

"That's fine. We will get in touch with them and set things up. One more thing, though, the cost of our silence on this is free passage through Tacoma for one year." Hernandez bargained, and Happy could feel the vein in his forehead throbbing. He'd been up all goddamn night again and he knew that there was no way Bowie could wave that toll for a year without damaging the charter.

"Give me a minute with my guys." Jax said, and retreated out of earshot, Opie, Juice, and Happy trailing him. "How much of a hit can Bowie take on this?"

"Not much. Those tolls are pretty steep. I can cover a couple months, but that's it." Happy told him, shrugging off the look Jax shot him. "I don't spend much."

"Opie, call Bowie and see if he can give us a couple months." Jax ordered. "Juice, check in with Bobby, see what we can do."

"You sure you can dip into your charter's funds for this?" Happy asked.

"Yeah, I handled things wrong with your old lady, so let me do this." Jax said, clapping him on the shoulder.

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace knocked on Tig's door at ten, their appointed time on nights when she wasn't closing the shop. Instead of shoving a pill in her mouth, though, Tig just opened the door further and motioned her in. He was on the phone with someone, so Ace sat on the bed and waited. She raised an eyebrow when he rubbed his hands together gleefully, but stayed silent, just watching until he hung up the phone.

"Were you serious about killing that gash that got you scooped up?" Tig asked seriously.

"As a heart attack." Ace answered, heart starting to race.

"Good. Go put on something that you don't care about getting bloody." He told her, pulling off his cut and laying it on the table.

"Wait you mean we're going to go do this right now?" Ace asked, not moving from the bed.

"Unless you want to wait and see what Hap has to say about it, yeah." Tig gave her a look that clearly said she was acting stupid.

"No, definitely not. Do I need to pack anything? How long are we going to be gone?" Ace finally got to her feet.

"See that's the really great thing. We're only gonna be gone a few hours. Now quit running your mouth and let's go!" Tig kicked her boot to get her moving.

Ace scrambled across the hallway, she tried to kick the door shut, but it bounced back open and she left it, heading for the closet. She ripped off her shirt and jeans and dug in the pile of clothing on the closet floor until she came up with the jeans she'd been wearing in Charming, she didn't like those anyway. With only a few shirts to her name, Ace went through Happy's until she found a plain black, long sleeved shirt, and pulled that on.

"Yo Blondie!" Tig was calling down the hall, grinning like he was more than a little off of his rocker.

"Tig?" Ace called, getting his attention, and gesturing to the ensemble questioningly.

"Yeah, fine. Do something with all that hair." He told her, before heading for Kozik's room. Ace braided it back as she followed him.

"Need your throwaway. Wipe it down and wrap it up." Tig grinned, and slapped Kozik on the chest with two hands. "And get ready to go, I'm going to need your bitch seat."

"What are you up to?" Kozik asked, suspiciously, but backed into his room anyway, pulling a lockbox out of his dresser along with an oiled cloth. He wiped it down carefully, paying particular attention to the slide and trigger, then wrapped it up in another cloth and laid it on the dresser top.

"We are taking Ace to get her cherry popped. That hooker is up in Seattle." Tig laughed.

"What? You want to take Happy's old lady to a prostitute?" Kozik asked, and Ace rolled her eyes. Push come to shove, she was always Happy's old lady and nothing else.

"No, Kozik. The hooker from Indian Hills that helped Carlos Rivera get to me. She's in Seattle, and I'm going to kill her."

"Uh-uh. No. You're both out of your goddamn minds." Kozik shook his head. "Do you have any idea what he's going to do when he finds out?"

"Nope." Tig grabbed the wrapped gun, careful not to touch it, and tucked it into the back of his jeans. He went to Kozik's bathroom and pawed through his medicine cabinet until he came up with a pair of latex gloves, and shoved those in his pocket.

"I don't know, either, but I don't wanna find out." Kozik was following Tig around the room.

"You can either come with us and help or I'm gonna have to go steal a car, and you know how risky that is." Tig told him, sliding his cut off of his shoulders. "We need some cash, too."

"I'm going to do this, Koz." Ace said quietly, hands pressed against her stomach. "I don't want to, but I have to. Please come help."

"This is a horrible fucking idea." Kozik said, dropping his own cut on the bed.

**No Other Man Alive**

"Six months. And Bowie didn't shit over it?" Happy asked, smoking with Jax.

"No. He's not happy with you, though, brother." Jax told him. "Tell me you're headed back there. He said your old lady is turning Tacoma upside down."

"What do you mean Ace is turning shit upside down?" Happy asked, taking a step closer, but Jax just put his hands up and shook his head.

"He didn't say anything else. Got the impression that he wanted you to call and ask him." Jax said.

"Did you rat me out to Quinn, yet?" Happy asked warily.

"Not yet. If you don't check in with him by the end of the day, though, I will." Jax warned him. "What is your plan here? You can't just take off with telling me where you're headed."

Happy leveled a look at Jax that clearly said that he absolutely could take off if and when he wanted and Jax wouldn't be able to a thing about it. He knew his time was up, though, and since he was headed back to Tacoma anyway, it didn't really matter who knew about it.

"Gotta stop in Bakersfield to sleep, I'll be on the road to Tacoma by midnight." Happy grunted, his gut clenching at the thought of being back with Ace by nightfall tomorrow. He couldn't figure out if it was fear or anticipation that had him sweating it.

"Do you want an escort? I can send Opie with you." Jax offered.

"Not gonna trust me with the kid?" Happy laughed. "Nah, I'm good. I'll call Quinn when I get to my Ma's."

"Alright, be safe, brother. Call when you're ready to handle this, I know the boys are gonna want in." Jax said, hugging Happy.

**No Other Man Alive**

The good thing about riding with Kozik was that staying on the Harley took enough concentration that Ace didn't have room to think about what she was going to do. Happy might be able to take lives and never think about it again, but Ace knew she wasn't that kind of person. She tucked her face against Kozik's back and tried to pretend that he was Happy, but no matter how hard she tried, it didn't work. Kozik wasn't as tall or as lean as Happy, and despite the leather and smoke, he still smelled all wrong to her. She hated that despite everything, she still longed for him so acutely.

It was the single most important reason that she wished that Kozik hasn't blocked her from leaving Tacoma. She wasn't afraid to see Happy, there were too many years, too many shared moments between them for her to fear him, but she didn't think she had the strength to be in Tacoma and be surrounded by all the things that reminded her of him. No matter where she went, though, she knew she wouldn't be able to get away from him entirely. He was in her skin, and loving him was bone deep in her makeup. Besides, Happy was nothing if not a creature of habit, and he'd come to her when he needed her ink, no matter how far she ran.

Kozik slowed, following Tig through the streets of Seattle until they started to get into the dirtier, grittier parts. The pulled off into a semi lit lot next to a bar.

"I still think this is fucking stupid." Kozik felt compelled to tell her before letting her off of the Harley.

"Relax, I'm with you and Tig, what could go wrong?" Ace tried to joke, but her throat was tight, and her voice fell flat.

"Do you at least have some kind of plan?" Kozik asked, turning to Tig.

"Sure, I know where she's tricking at, and since she's never met my favorite lemonheaded fucker, you get to play John. Lure her into an alley, let Ace do her thing, and get the fuck out of here. Sound good?" Tig was already stepping off, heading for the back alleys, presumably to avoid notice.

"You can stay here, let Tigger and I handle this." Kozik sighed, running a hand through his hair before putting a hat on.

"No." Ace swallowed hard, and her face was pale.

"Fine." Kozik gave in, pulling her by the hand after Tig.

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy was surprised he could even sit down on the driver's seat with how thoroughly his ass had been chewed. First by his mother when he'd confessed the fight he and Ace had had before he'd skipped out on her. Delia Perez had some very serious opinions on what sort of Hell was waiting for him if he didn't fix things with his wife. He was reminded again that Ace was as much Delia's child as he was, maybe more, given that she'd spent more of her teen years with Delia than Happy had, and given her a lot less grief.

He'd just hung up with Quinn for the second time. He'd checked in when he'd gotten to Bakersfield, but Quinn had been too irate with him to talk coherently, just yelling too loudly to make any sense. This call had gone marginally better, but Quinn had threatened to send him to a charter if he ever left his partner behind again. His exact words had been something like he should have Tig close enough at all times to hold his nutsack for him.

Happy kept glancing over at the phone, its silence was making him twitchy. He knew Quinn would have given the number to Tig by now and the fact that he hadn't called to take out his pound of flesh had him worried. Everyone he'd talked to so far had warned him that his path of destruction was wider than he thought, and he was starting to believe that. The thought that Tig might withhold the phone number from Ace crossed his mind, but then he really didn't want to talk to her until he could do it face to face. He owed her one hell of an apology, and didn't have a goddamn clue where to begin with that shit. Things had been so good between them in Tacoma before, even when they'd fought; it had been good, both of them cooled off and in bed before the sun came up.

He checked the clock, fourteen more hours of pavement before he could see her. Heading out from the meet with Jax, there had been all kinds of ribald joking and suggestions, but frankly, what he wanted the most was to tuck her right up against him and go to sleep running his hand though all her wild red curls. The chances of that happening without about 3 days worth of explanation was slim to none, though, and he knew it. He really hoped she was good and pissed off when he got there, that was easier to handle than wounded.

**No Other Man Alive**

"That's her?" Kozik verified, shaking his head as he circled around the back of the building so he could reach the cross street to intercept her.

"C'mere." Tig told Ace. He pulled a knit hat out of his pocket and pulled it over her hair. Next he handed her the latex gloves, which she pulled on, eyes huge in the shadows behind the dumpster. "No dramatic speech, not one single second of hesitation. Let Kozik get her on her knees, and you put a bullet in that bitch's temple. She shouldn't even see you coming, you got it?"

"Yeah." Ace whispered, very aware that her hands were shaking.

"You will not fuck this up, you understand me?" Tig shook her by the shoulders. "The toughest bitch I know, right?"

"Yeah." Ace's voice was stronger this time, and she held her hand out. Tig pulled the gun out and screwed a silencer on the end of it, handing it to her butt first. Ace took it, turning it from side to side to get comfortable with the weight, and made sure the safety was off and it was locked and loaded. Tig put a finger to his lips and nodded toward the entrance to the alley, where Kozik was leading Starla as far back into the shadows as he could. Ace could hear all the ridiculous excuses he was making about needing privacy, and she squared her shoulders, rolling her head from shoulder to shoulder. Tig's hands were on her upper arms, and he put his mouth right against her ear.

"I'll be with you the entire time." He breathed so low that she felt more than heard the words. She nodded once to acknowledge that she'd understood. Kozik had the hooker backed up to the dumpster, and at his sidelong glance, Tig was shoving Ace out from their hiding spot.

It was the work of a heartbeat, leveling the weapon, and pulling the trigger. The only surprise was how truly messy a gunshot wound to the head turned out to be. Ace looked down at what was left of Starla, waiting to feel relief or vindication or guilt, but the only thing she felt was her gag reflex.

"Oh no, you fucking don't." Tig growled, clapping his gloved hand over her mouth. His other arm went around her waist, dragging her backward until she found her feet.

"I'm fine, I'm good, put me down!" She gasped and Tig let her go. He took the gun from her hand and wrapping it up, tucked it back into his waistband. They were walking quickly through the connecting alleyways, taking a different route than they'd taken to get there. Kozik pulled the hat from her head and tossed it to a homeless man. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and it was comforting being under someone's physical protection. She stripped the latex gloves off, shoving them into a bag of trash they passed.

"Get rid of that. See you back in Tacoma." Kozik told Tig, dropping Ace's helmet on her head and mounting up.

Tig mock saluted and shot off in the opposite direction from Tacoma. Ace got on, and wrapped her arms tightly around Kozik's waist, still uncomfortable with the close contact, no matter how many times she rode with him.

"Hold on, we're gonna move fast once we got out on the highway." He told her, looking back over his shoulder. Ace nodded her understanding and scooted a little closer, firming her grip.

**No Other Man Alive**

They beat Tig back to the clubhouse, but neither one of them made any move to go inside. They sat on the picnic table and Kozik let her share his cigarette. He ruffled her hair and gave her one of those sideways hugs before releasing her.

"You alright, Ace high?" Kozik finally asked, and Ace thought about it for a minute.

"Yeah, I think so. I thought it would feel different, but I just feel…ok." Ace shrugged.

"So tomorrow. How are you feeling about it?" He asked, not looking at her.

"Like I don't have a choice." Ace snorted and kicked at the bench halfheartedly.

"Give him a chance, Ace." Kozik persuaded. "He loves you."

"Didn't stop him from leaving, did it?" She asked bitterly. "That's the thing I can't get past, Kozik, after everything that I went through, fuck, that both of us went through, he couldn't even stick around. That's always his default with me, to cut and run."

"So don't let him run from you." Kozik shrugged.

"I'm sorry, are we talking about the same person? Because I've never seen him do anything but exactly what he wanted, and damn what everyone else thinks about it." Ace pushed herself off of the tabletop, ready to head inside, but Tig was pulling onto the lot so she stayed standing where she was.

"I don't think he can tell you no." Kozik murmured from behind her, half to himself, and Ace didn't bother answering, just scoffed. Her attention was diverted from Kozik though, when Tig jogged across the parking lot, phone held up in his hand.

"Guess who is back on the fucking grid?" Tig laughed, and Ace stared at him.

"He called you?" She asked, shocked by how badly that hurt. She shook her head and turned away, heading for the stairs, but Tig grabbed her wrist. Ace stopped, but yanked her arm from his grasp.

"Happy checked in with Quinn. Quinn sent me the number for the phone he picked up." Tig told her, and flipped his own open, offering it to her. "Call him."

"No." Ace backed away, her hands up, then turned and headed for the stairs.

"If you're not gonna call him, I'm sending him this picture of you passed the fuck out on my bed." Tig threatened her, sure that she would stop, but Ace didn't even hesitate.

"Go for it, Tigger." She called without even looking back.

**No Other Man Alive**

"Come clean up your mess." Happy read out loud, and was about to toss the phone back down on the seat when a picture message showed up. His throat closed up remembering the last pictures he'd seen on a phone, but forced himself to open it anyway. He immediately wished he hadn't, and he put the phone down carefully on the seat before he was tempted to crack it in half.

He could still see the picture, though. Ace was asleep, or maybe passed out, on Tig's bed, and he was grinning like an asshole with his boots up on the bed next to her. Which of course meant there was at least one more person in that room. He could guess who had taken that picture.

"Fucking douchebags." Happy muttered, resisting the impulse to call Tig and scream until his throat bled, because he knew that's exactly what Tig wanted him to do. He could wait ten hours to rip Tig a new asshole for that stunt. Maybe.

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace woke even earlier than usual, her stomach in knots. She looked frantically around the room to ensure she was alone, then flopped back down, groaning. Going back to sleep was an incredibly tempting prospect, but now that her mind was fully aware that today was judgment day, she knew there wasn't a chance in hell that she'd actually manage it.

Instead, she rolled to Happy's side of the bed and shook the last cigarette out of his pack and lit it. It was semi pleasant to let herself wake all the way up while failing at every attempt to blow rings. When that stopped being amusing, Ace got up, holding the cigarette in her mouth while she wound her hair up in a bun. She stopped in front of the window, double checking to make sure the truck wasn't out in the lot. She hadn't really thought that it would be, Happy wasn't exactly a paragon of patience, so if he had gotten there in the night, he'd have come straight to his bed.

He probably wouldn't show his face until tonight, or maybe he would roll in just in time for his appointment tomorrow morning. Whatever his plan was, and clearly he wasn't concerned about how she felt about it, considering he had a phone and chose not to put it to any use, she wasn't about to be caught in his room when he arrived. Stubbing out the cigarette, Ace pulled on a pair of jeans and padded barefoot to the kitchen to pour herself a cup of coffee before she got started on the room.

"Hey." She gave a little half wave in the Prospect's direction, and accepted the mug that he offered without looking at her. Ace was fairly certain that he hadn't made eye contact with her since the morning Happy had bit his head off.

Back in the room, Ace left the door open, drinking the coffee and pulling the pictures down one handed, leaving them in a pile on the dresser. She wasn't sure exactly what she was going to do with them. The constant need to see them- and know that what had been done to her was real and not some nightmare-had passed, but throwing them away didn't feel right either. It took her longer to gather all her things together, because without Happy following her around putting shit away, she'd definitely spread out. She still managed to fit it all in the little duffel, though, something she was strangely proud of. She dropped the bag near the door, and snorted when she realized how easily her presence in Happy's life could be erased.

Shaking her head at herself, Ace stripped the bed and remade it with fresh sheets from the closet. She dumped the ashtray and rinsed it out, then went to work wiping down any surface she could find. When she was finished, the room looked pretty much exactly the way it had the first time she'd been there.

"You're seriously moving out of his room, Ace high?" Kozik asked, wincing and scratching the back of his head.

"Yes." Ace shrugged. "Have you ever been in love, Koz?"

"Not like what you and Killah got going on." Kozik said, taking it the completely sterile room.

"Lucky you." Ace sighed.

"Quit feeling sorry for yourself. There are plenty of people who would kill for the kind of history and devotion the two of you have." Kozik pointed out, and slung Ace's bag over his shoulder.

"Ah yes, cheating, rape, and abuse; all the hallmarks of an epic love story. You know, they should make a movie about us, it'll be huge, like _The Notebook."_ Ace laughed.

"Cheating? Who cheated?" Kozik looked at her sharply.

"I'll give you a hint, Kozik." Ace said, gathering the sheets up in one hand and her pile of drawings in the other, and dropped her voice to a stage whisper. "It wasn't me."

"Come on. There's an empty room down by me." Kozik locked Happy's door and pulled it closed.

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy's foot got even heavier when he crossed the border into Washington around two. He'd been on the road for fourteen hours straight, stopping only to piss and refuel, but he wasn't tired anymore. All his nerves were on fire to be back in Tacoma, even if that meant spending the next week groveling like a bitch to get back in his wife's good graces. He wondered if there was a limit to what he was willing to do to get her to trust him again, but thought that there probably wasn't.

He'd looked at the picture Tig had sent him more than a few times, trying to push down all the possessive protective rage that Tig wanted him to feel, and really look at what he'd done to her. She was fully dressed, which helped. It was more and more obvious the longer he stared at it that she wasn't asleep like he'd initially hoped. She was passed right the fuck out, and he really hoped that it was a one time lapse in whiskey judgment.

It felt downright shitty that after everything she'd been through, his duck and run routine had been what had finally broken her down. He knew when he'd left that she hadn't meant for him to actually get as gone as he had, but getting some distance and time had seemed like such a good idea at the time that he'd conveniently ignored what that might be doing to her. He'd always seen any time they'd been apart as another opportunity to come back to her, from when she'd been a teenager all the way through the runs he'd been on since they'd been together. It was only now occurring to him that from her side, all it looked like was a really long series of being of left behind.

**No Other Man Alive**

"Thought I'd find you here. Hiding out?" Tig asked, coming into the gym where Ace was working the bag.

"I got tired of pacing and feeling like a caged animal. Kozik won't let me leave until I have to go to work." She told him, through gritted teeth, not pausing in her assault. She was wearing jeans, but had stripped off her shirt down to her sports bra, and she was dripping with sweat. It killed her that she cared, but she couldn't stop herself from asking. "Do you know when he's getting here?"

"Nah. If I knew that I would tell you, dollface." Tig told her, circling to the other side of the bag to hold it for her. "You're still sure he's coming today, huh?"

"Either today or he'll drive straight through to his appointment in the morning." Ace grunted, shaking her hand out after landing a punch a little too hard.

"Well don't let him roll right over you when he gets here." Tig warned. "He doesn't have a fucking clue what he's doing, and his first move is going to be crowding the shit out of you to get a reaction."

"You think I don't know that?" Ace scoffed, and swiped her arm across her face, flicking sweat on the floor at her feet.

"Just making sure you're ready for it." Tig shrugged, like it was of absolutely no consequence to him, but Ace knew that Tig felt like he had just as much invested in this as she did. The biggest difference was that Tig knew exactly what he wanted, and Ace didn't have the first fucking clue. She loved Happy in such an imbedded, visceral way that the thought of losing him was incomprehensible to her. It would be like losing a limb, or suddenly not being able draw or ink anymore. She couldn't ignore the fact that no matter how close he brought her, she still felt like she was on the outside, and she'd never be able to really hold him.

"I won't ever be ready." Ace told him, dropping her arms and taking up the pacing again. "Shit, Tig, can't you just take me out of here?"

"Don't be such a pussy. Whether you stay with Hap or not, you gotta face this shit so that he can go back to doing what he needs to." Tig told her, and tossed the water to her. "Come on, you got a little while before you go to work, right? Keep working and stop thinking. You think too much anyway."

"You're not kidding. It's fucking crowded in here." Ace said, tapping her temple before she took up her position at the bag again.

"Less thinking, more hitting. It always works for me."

**No Other Man Alive**

Navigating the streets of Tacoma was the longest drive of Happy's life. His gut felt like it was made of lead, heavy and cold. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so goddamn nervous, it was like the first time he'd gotten laid, completely psyched and terrified at the same time. Realizing that he was sweating like he was guilty of something, Happy dug in his bag one handed until he came up with some deodorant, and used his teeth to pull the cap off, so he could get some on. It brought back the memory of the night he'd fought Lorca, and how absolutely perfect she'd been, laughing with him, listening to him, trusting him, and then afterward on Maryanne's desk. He grinned at the memory, and wondered what Maryanne would do to him if she ever found out.

"Come on, come on." Happy muttered, stuck at a red light. He could see Tacoma's clubhouse from where he was sitting and he drummed his fingers impatiently on the wheel. The light finally changed after about a century, and he floored it as much as he dared, turning quickly onto the lot. His Harley was right where he'd left it, and it surprised him that as much as he missed riding, and he really did, he wasn't concerned with that right now. Unlike his wife, his Harley didn't have a choice about staying where he'd left it. He left his bag where it was and got down, slamming the door.

"Well, well, well, look who finally showed up." Lorca was coming down the stairs from the clubhouse, and went in for a back slapping hug. "And with your leather no less. Good man."

"I do what I can. Is Ace here?" Happy asked awkwardly, not meeting Lorca's eye.

"No idea, man." Lorca shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Your two pit bulls won't let anyone else near her."

At this, Happy did look up, but Lorca didn't offer any more information, just clapped him hard on the shoulder and headed out to his ride. Happy watched him go, and then headed up the stairs, taking them three at a time. As soon as he opened the door to the clubhouse, his brothers were on him. Questions about where he'd been and when he'd gotten his cut back came at him from all sides. He kept looking for any sign of Ace, or Tig and Kozik, but didn't see any of them. He'd thought for a second that he'd seen a flash of Kozik's blonde hair, but when he'd turned to look Kozik hadn't been there.

"Glad to see you whole, brother." Bowie said, pushing through the melee.

"It's good to be back, Bowie. Sorry about splitting like that." Happy was grateful that the older man didn't require any more explanation than that.

"Chapel in fifteen?" Bowie offered, and Happy knew that he was forgiven, otherwise Bowie would've made it immediately. "Bring Tig, too, he's around here somewhere."

"Yeah." Happy nodded, and having been dismissed, pushed through to the hallway, his heart hammering against his ribs. He tried the handle, but his door was locked. His hand was shaking as he tried to fit the key in the lock, succeeding on the third try. The door swung open and his stomach dropped. There wasn't a single trace of Ace in this room, it didn't even smell like her. He went in anyway, pulling open random drawers, but they were all filled with his shit.

Heading across the hall, Happy didn't bother knocking, just went straight for Tig's doorknob, and luckily it swung right open, but there wasn't any sign of Ace in there, either. For a sick moment, he'd thought he'd find her moved in with Tig, and the relief was immediate and also short lived. The next door up was Kozik's, and he beat feet down to the other end of the hall, but Kozik's room was empty, too. Now Happy was getting really worried, not knowing if Ace was still here at the clubhouse at all. Someone would have told him if she had left, though, he was sure of that.

Feeling like his hourglass was running too fast, Happy went back out to the clubhouse, but it was the same crowd it had been before, so he kept on going out the door and down the stairs. Both Tigger and Kozik's Harleys were on the lot, so he knew they were here somewhere. He opened Maryanne's door, first, he knew that Ace had enjoyed visiting her during the days.

**No Other Man Alive**

"Time's up, Ace high." Kozik said from the stairs. Ace shot him a slightly panicked look, swallowing the rising anxiety, and nodded. She didn't say a word, just kept up her assault on Tig, who'd slid on the mitts a while earlier. Tig and Kozik did that weird exchange of information without talking, but no one said anything, and the sound of Ace's panting and the impact on the mitts were loud in the big space. They weren't loud enough to mask the sound of the door that emptied out onto the back of the building when it opened, though.

Happy's first thought when he came through the door was complete confusion, because the woman across the gym floor wasn't his wife. He was wrong, though, she could change a lot of things about herself, but the pull she had on him wasn't something that could be changed. Her waist was narrower, and the muscles in her arms and across her back were firmer with the faintest traces of definition beginning to show through. And no wonder, judging by how hard she was hitting the mitts. Tig was watching him over Ace's dark haired head, his face carefully impassive. Kozik was hovering near the stairs, shifting his weight from side to side, like he was trying to decide whether to come say hi or retreat up the stairs, but he met Happy's eyes without hesitation, nodding his head toward Ace.

Tig was backing her off of him, even though she seemed determined to keep going. He watched, realizing that she was perfectly aware of his presence, and choosing to ignore him. She'd adored him, thrown things at him, cried all over him, but she'd never flat out ignored him before. His mouth was dry as he searched for words. Tig wasn't looking at him anymore, he was watching Ace's face while he shook off the mitts. Happy would have given up a lifetime of riding to see what Tig was seeing right that moment. He looked helplessly to Kozik for direction, but the SAA had apparently opted for retreat, because he was nowhere to be found now.

"Ace." He finally spoke, his voice somewhere between a question and a statement of fact. He could actually see the muscles in her back go rigid. She didn't turn around, though, just walked to where the bag was, and snagged a long sleeved shirt, pulling it on, covering up all the ink on her back. She finally turned to him, and her face was so closed off that he found himself looking to Tig for insight. Ace stopped a few feet in front of him, crossing her arms, and not meeting his eyes.

"C'mere." His throat felt raw, and he reached his good hand out to her, willing her to take it. She didn't, but she did take another step forward, close enough for him to reach her. She let him run a hand over her hair, which looked strange to him, but also reminded him strongly of a much younger Ace. When he cupped her shoulder and tried to draw her to him, she put both of her taped fists against his stomach, stopping him. She finally looked up at him, and he couldn't find any of the things he'd been looking for in her eyes. It was all distrust and anger and hardness.

"Give us a minute, Tig?" He asked, and it didn't escape his notice that Tig looked to Ace first before he replied, but she'd nodded to let him know it was fine with her.

"Sure, man. I'll be upstairs." Tig said, and headed for the stairs. When he'd gone, Happy turned his attention back to his broken wife, who was looking at him like she'd never seen him before.

"I'm sorry." He told her, rubbing his thumb against the skin at her neck. "I know that's not enough, but I'm sorry."

Ace still didn't say anything, but she nodded, and her shoulders relaxed. He tried again to pull her toward him and this time she didn't push back. She didn't move though, her clenched fists were still hard between them, but she let him wrap his arms around her, and he was grateful. He buried his face in her hair, not caring in the least that she was soaked with sweat.

"I love you. I'm a fucking idiot." He murmured, his lips against her forehead, but still she didn't say anything. He pulled back to look at her, but she was back to looking anywhere but at him. He cupped her face, running his thumb across her bottom lip, wanting her mouth on his so badly that he'd started to move toward her before he knew it. She did push him away this time, and he was left standing there like a chump while she cross to the desk that held some of the tape and wraps. He saw her pull out the scissors, and awkwardly attempting to cut the tape off of her hands. He was across the room in a flash, taking the scissors from her.

"Let me do that." And she laid her hand in his and he was careful, cutting and peeling the tape from her. Even with Tig's wrap job, which he recognized, her knuckles were bruised and watching her face carefully, he lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed the bruising. She was breathing fast, but her face wasn't giving anything away. He'd finished with her other hand when they both heard the boots on the stairs.

"Come on, Happy. I said fifteen and I gave you twenty. Let's go." Bowie told him levelly.

"Yeah, I'm coming." Happy let go of her hands and kissed her forehead. "We'll talk when I'm done with Bowie, alright?"

Ace nodded, pulling away from him, flexing her hands. It was nearly painful to tear himself away from her and follow Bowie.

"Hey." He turned immediately at the sound of her voice. "It's good to see you back in your cut, Killah."

He grinned and continued his climb up the stairs, relieved that she'd finally spoken to him. It wasn't until he'd sat down at Bowie's table that it occurred to him that she'd never called him Killah before, and somehow that made him very uneasy.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	34. Chapter 34

**Disclaimer-I don't own the Sons of Anarchy or their recognizable characters. I do own NOMA and my characters, though. I'm also incredibly, insanely, out of my mind jealous of all the Harleys en route to Sturgis.**

Ace burst into the room she was using to find Kozik sitting in the chair in the corner. She looked at him for a long minute and then back at the door that she'd just unlocked. He didn't say anything, just held a key up in explanation.

"Lovely. I don't even get to lock my own door now?" Ace snapped at him, then abruptly sat down on the floor, putting her back to the door.

"Shit, are you alright?" Kozik asked, getting to his feet. He hunkered down in front of her, close, but not touching.

"Do I look alright to you, Kozik?" She mumbled from under her arms, which were curled around her head like she was bracing for impact.

"It didn't seem like it was going that badly." Kozik said, and finally gave into the impulse to hug her, pulling her against his chest and patting her back awkwardly. She allowed the contact for a minute, then pushed him off of her.

"Give me like, ten minutes to shower and then you are taking me to work." She informed him, her eyes wide with anxiety.

"Ace…" He sighed, warningly.

"No. I stuck around, I saw him, and now I'm going to work. If you won't take me, then I'm calling a cab." Ace didn't give him a chance to reply, she put the bathroom door between them and turned the shower on. She left her wet clothes in a heap on the floor, feeling like she was in a race to get out before the door of the trap swung shut.

When she'd washed the sweat from her body and done at least a halfway job of getting her hair clean, she stuck her head out of the bathroom to make sure Kozik had left. Not wanting to risk the time it would take to dry her hair, she pulled it up into a sleek bun, and dressed as fast as she could. She was still pulling her shirt down with one hand while throwing her bag over her shoulder when she spilled into the hall.

Looking over her shoulder like a convict, Ace pounded on Kozik's door. She was shifting her weight from foot to foot like a toddler who needed to pee.

"Get me out of here, Kozik, please!" She begged him, and she could tell that he really wanted to tell her no. "I have to go to work either way."

"Fine, but I'm telling him where you are, so don't be surprised when he shows up." Kozik warned her, and pulled out his keys. "And we're taking the car."

**No Other Man Alive**

It was over two hours before Bowie released him from the Chapel, and Happy felt like it had been more like a couples counseling session with Tig than anything else. Bowie had forced them to come to an accord on what the exact parameters of their partnership were. The one thing they never spoke about was Ace. Happy couldn't even begin to sort through the noise enough to ask Tig a coherent question about her, so he just stayed silent, but Tig didn't offer him anything, either.

"If you want to take a swing at me, I'd get it." Happy finally told him as they exited.

"I'm waiting to punch you in the back of your head until both your fucking hands work." Tig told him.

"That's fair." Happy acknowledged. "How bad was she?"

"Had to call Donut that night because she tried to drown herself in Jack." Tig shrugged, like it wasn't really a big deal. He figured it would be best not to mention that she'd also been curled up with Happy's throwaway.

"Is she still drinking like that?" Happy asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"No." And based on the tone of his voice, Tig wasn't telling the whole story.

"Thanks for looking out for her." Happy said, putting his hand out. Tig just looked at it and shook his head.

"Either take care of your shit or cut her loose, I'm tired of dragging your weight." He called over his shoulder as he left Happy behind.

"Fuck." Happy groaned, the start of what felt like a massive headache pounding in his temples. It didn't improve his mood when Kozik intercepted him on his way to find Ace. All he wanted was to get her to talk to him.

"What's Tigger pissed off about?" Kozik asked him, blocking his route to the dorm rooms.

"He's tired of carrying my weight, I don't really blame him." Happy shrugged. "How pissed are you?"

"I'm angry, but there's no point in acting like a bitch about it." Kozik purposely left out the fact that he figured Happy was going to be twice as angry when he figured out who had been helping Ace get independent. "Don't bother looking for Ace, she left for work a while ago."

"Wait, she's working?" Happy was surprised, because that was the last thing he'd expected from her, given that so far all anyone had told him was how wrecked she'd been over him skipping town.

"Yeah, I made sure she went to Eddie's place. Figured that was the safest place for her, man." Kozik watched as Happy was trying to rearrange the pieces of the puzzle into something that made sense, and coming up short.

"Yeah, I guess it would be." Happy answered, but he was still in his own head, and it wasn't doing much good, because it was getting clearer that he didn't know everything that was going on.

"I'm glad you're back. How much hell did you raise in Fallbrook?" Kozik changed the subject, slapping Happy's chest.

"Not much, just recon and one body." Happy grinned. "I left a huge fucking calling card on their wall, though. They know I'm coming, just not when."

"Was the body Rivera's?" Kozik asked excitedly.

"Nah, Juice is tracking him down somewhere on the East Coast. This was just the banger unlucky enough to pull guard duty that night. I wish that asshole had shown his face while I was there, I'd be a much happier man. Neither he or the gash were anywhere to be found, I figure she's probably still with him." Happy said easily, he knew Juice was the best tracker they had, and if he could find him, he'd know who would.

"Yeah, Juice will figure it out." Kozik said, looking toward Tig, who was currently doing his best to get loaded as fast as possible.

"What time is my wife gonna be done tonight?" Happy asked Kozik finally, and his voice was cold. Having to ask someone else anything about his old lady really made his skin crawl. He didn't think he'd ever been at a disadvantage where she'd been concerned. Even when she'd been married, he'd always felt like he had more of an in with her than Tony had. She was loyal to a fault, no doubt about that, but even though he hadn't been fucking her, he'd always felt like she'd been his, first. That douchebag hadn't ever known what was in front of him or how to handle her.

"She usually closes, you have plenty of time before you need to go pick her up." Kozik told him and Happy just raised a brow and waited. "I've been giving her rides, but I'm done playing taxi driver. At the very least she won't be able to walk away from you while the truck is moving."

"Where's she staying at? None of her shit is in my room." Happy questioned him, the pile of shit he didn't know getting bigger and bigger. Kozik pulled a key from his cut and tossed it to him.

"Two doors down from me. It was either let her do that or she would've taken a page outta your playbook and split entirely." Kozik pacified him. "You're not gonna like the way things played out while you disappeared, but Tig and I kept her here. Remember that."

**No Other Man Alive**

"Hey Ace." Eddie nodded as she stepped into his office.

"Hey Eddie." Ace sat in one of his extra chairs, and grabbed his portfolio, flipping through it.

"You have a couple appointments tonight. One in an hour, the other at nine." Eddie told her, watching her. "You alright?"

"Fine, Eddie. You're pretty good." She said, still flipping through the book. "Have you done a lot of cover ups, Eddie?"

"Who hasn't?" Eddie laughed. "Whatcha got?"

Ace stood, and pulled her shirt up, revealing not only the ink on her stomach, but the scar on her side, too. Eddie stared at it for a long time and then looked up at her.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" He asked seriously.

"No."

"I'd recognize Happy's work anywhere and there's not a chance in hell that I'll be the one to cover it." Eddie shook his head, not even wanting to contemplate what Happy would do to him.

"I won't ask you to, I just wanted to see if it could be covered." Ace told him, starting to pull her shirt back into place.

"What happened to your side there?" Eddie asked while she gathered up her bag.

"I got stabbed." Ace looked over her shoulder at him. "It sucked. End of story."

"Let me see the ink again." Eddie sighed. "I'm not gonna cover it, but I'll draw something up for you so you know whether it would even work."

"Thanks, Eddie." Ace smiled tightly, and pulled her shirt up far enough that he could get a picture of the tattoo.

**No Other Man Alive**

Since Kozik assured him he had plenty of time to kill, Happy went down to the room Ace was staying in. He hesitated outside the door, feeling guilty about invading her space, but his need to surround himself with her was stronger than the guilt. He unlocked the door and closed it behind him. This room didn't smell like her, either, which had him wondering how long she'd been living in it. Her bag was on the bed, and he unzipped it. Either she was planning on leaving now, or she'd just moved out of his room this morning. He chose to believe that she wasn't trying to run. He felt a little better that she'd been in his bed the whole time he'd been gone.

Pacing the room, Happy went to the bathroom, breathing in the familiar smell of the soap she used. He closed his eyes for a moment and just let it fill him up. Her wet clothes were on the floor, and he couldn't stop himself from picking them up, and hanging them over the shower doors to dry. The black lace panties gave him an immediate hard on.

There was a stack of drawings on the bed next to her bag, and Happy went back to investigate. He was glad that she was drawing and inking again, it meant that she was in a better headspace with the rape than she'd been when he'd left. He lay back, propping the pillows up behind him and lit a cigarette, pulling an ashtray out of the top drawer of the nightstand. The relief over Ace's art evaporated the second he picked up the stack. It felt like being under attack. Page after page of what had been done to her, all from her point of view. They were drawn in hard lines, mostly black and grey, with random, saturated pops of color. The last dozen or so were of him, and it was uncanny the way she had guessed what had transpired after he'd given himself up. It was also intriguing the way she'd been able to draw him perfectly from memory, it was like looking in a mirror. She knew every line and shadow and scar, could reproduce all his ink perfectly in proportion.

Happy looked up at the sound of the door.

"Some sick shit, isn't it?" Tig asked, nodding toward the drawings in his hand. "We all thought we had a fucking clue what they did to her, but once she started drawing those, man we didn't even know. She had em hung up all over your room until this morning."

"That's…really fucking disturbing." Happy scratched his head. "Is she at least sleeping at night?"

"She is now." Tig said, the silent implication being that she hadn't been sleeping at first.

"That's good. Eating? She still looks too skinny." Happy continued his questioning.

"Getting better about it. Eddie makes her eat at work. I force breakfast and lunch down her throat." Tig shrugged, like it wasn't a big thing, but since Happy had mostly failed in getting Ace to eat on a regular schedule, he understood.

"How'd you manage to get her eating?" He asked, and stood up, looking at the clock. It was too early, but he didn't have any fucks left to give. He wanted to be wherever she was.

"I told you I forced it down her throat, I wasn't joking." Tig told him, folding his arms. "I'm only telling you all this so that you can harness your balls back on and make a fucking decision. She didn't fuck Shark. She thinks that everything that's happened since you hooked up is her fault. And while you've fucked up a lot, the worst thing you could've done was leave. I don't give a fuck whether you keep her, lose her, or kill her, but for fucks sake do something."

"Thanks for the update." Happy rasped, and Tig didn't answer, just left the room.

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy sat in the parking lot for a long time before he could make himself go inside. He went around to the back door, near where Eddie's office was, hoping to find the man before Ace spotted him. He was in luck, Eddie was at his desk, obviously working on a drawing. He looked up when he heard Happy's boots, and his face was panicked. Happy put a finger to his lips, and closed Eddie's door.

"How're you treating my girl, Eddie?" Happy asked, and pulled the man into a hug.

"Good, good. She's amazingly talented, man. Better than you, even." Eddie laughed.

"No argument from me." Happy told him, and sat down.

"Do you want me to go get Ace for you?" Eddie offered, going for the door, but Happy shook his head.

"Nah, I just wanted to see if you'd cut her loose early since I just got back in town." Happy was watching Eddie shuffle papers around on his desk nervously.

"Uh, she's got a client at nine, but she could leave after that. Would that work for ya?" Eddie said, dropping his calendar over whatever he'd been working on.

"It'll have to." Happy mused. "What are you working on that's got you so jumpy, Eddie?"

"Nothing I would have actually inked, I swear!" Eddie told him, passing the sketches over. Happy flipped through them, shaking his head.

"No one touches her but me. You know that, right?" Happy asked calmly, handing them back.

"Of course, Happy. I told her that I wasn't gonna do it, she just wanted to know if it _could_ be done." Eddie was sweating, he had a very healthy fear of finding himself on Happy's bad side.

"Well, tell her it can't." Happy told him, getting to his feet. He opened the door, checking to make sure Ace wasn't in eyesight.

"Should I tell her you were here?" Eddie asked, trailing behind him.

"No. She knows I'm in town, that's enough." Happy said, and headed out into the lot to wait.

**No Other Man Alive**

"Alright, wash it with Dial, apply the A&D at least twice a day, and come back to see me in a few weeks if it needs to be touched up. Keep it out of the sun." Ace told the frat boy sporting a large tribal piece on his shoulder that she just knew he wasn't going to take care of. The whole time she'd been working on him, he'd been trying to look down her shirt, and she was glad that she'd worn a shirt that covered up her tits. She was also relieved that Happy hadn't shown up while she was working on the kid, he would have taken the brat's head off.

Ace stripped her gloves off, tossing them in the general direction of the trash can. She rolled her head, stretching her neck. It was sore from leaning over the guy's shoulder and trying to block his leering. It didn't take her long to finish cleaning up her space. As far as work spaces went, it was pretty alright. The shop was much newer and sleeker than what she was used to from Fallbrook, but the harsh lighting, while great for visibility, felt cold to her. And given the fact that she'd put her hair up and left without putting on a speck of makeup, it probably made her look like death, too.

"Listen, I've been working on this drawing, Ace, I really just don't think you'd be able to get decent coverage on it." Eddie told her, hovering awkwardly.

"I didn't think you would." Ace muttered cynically. "Thanks for looking at it anyway."

"Sure, sure." Eddie answered. "Listen, you don't have anyone else scheduled tonight and it's been dead all day, why don't you just head home and I'll close up tonight."

Ace narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. Eddie was nervous and he'd never, ever offered to close alone. That all added right up to Happy being involved. It didn't seem worth calling Eddie out on it, though, she didn't know anyone who could turn Happy from what he wanted.

"Yeah." She snorted, and packed her book away in her bag. "Thanks, Eddie."

Ace didn't even bother trying to call Kozik, he'd warned her when he dropped her off that she was on her own for rides now. Besides, if she knew Happy, he'd be right outside the back door waiting for her. Delaying the inevitable, Ace stopped in the employee bathroom to assess the face situation. She didn't look as badly as she thought, which was a blessing. She considered taking her hair down, but the thought of him touching it, running his hand through it, tugging it to get her attention made her weak, so she left it, even though it looked severe on her. Out of things to stall herself with, Ace finally gave in and left the bathroom, calling herself a coward with every step.

Happy was exactly where she'd expected him to be, leaning against the truck, right across from the door. When he saw her, he flicked away the cigarette he'd been smoking and pushed away, coming to meet her halfway.

"How long did it take Kozik to tell you where I was?" She asked him, stopping shy of his reach again.

"About seventeen seconds after I got done with Tig and Bowie." Happy admitted, glad that she was at least talking this time. "Did you think he wouldn't?"

"No, I knew he would. How long have you been waiting out here?" She folded her arms across her chest, shifting her weight.

"A little over three hours. Felt like fucking forever." The second the words were out of his mouth, Happy knew he couldn't have said anything worse. Her face got hard, and she stepped around him to go to the truck. "That's not what I meant." He called, right on her heels. He deliberately trapped her against the door, in between his arms.

"Seems to be your theme song these days, Killah." She snapped, and turned her back to him. "Unlock the doors or I'm going inside to call a cab."

Without a word, Happy unlocked the door and held it open for her. He'd known that coming back to her wasn't going to be easy, but he couldn't seem to figure out where she was at with it. At the clubhouse she'd been so distant, one second cold, the next hurt. Now she was pissed and ready to use the sharp side of her tongue. He couldn't decide which was worse, since it didn't seem that she was going to actually listen to anything he said.

"Why do you keep calling me that?" Happy asked, getting in the truck and firing it up. "You've called me a lot of things, but that's a new one."

"It's what everyone else calls you, isn't it?" Ace pointed out, staring out the passenger window. Happy reached over, trailing his fingertips down the seam of her jeans. She looked down at his hand like she couldn't figure out where it had come from, and shifted closer to the door. He sighed and rubbed his temple, trying to will the headache and fatigue away.

"Yeah, doesn't mean I like it from you." He told her, heading back to the clubhouse.

"That's nice. Killah." She still refused to look at him, and his hand tightened on the wheel. It was dead silent in the cab the entire ride, and when he got to the clubhouse, instead of turning in, he kept driving. If he let her out of the truck she was going to lock him out and he had to make her understand.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ace sighed, like she was trying to hold onto her last vestiges of patience.

"I'm trying to get you to talk to me!" He yelled, feeling like he was losing her, even though she was right there. This time she did turn to him, and her cheeks were splotched red.

"Seriously? You're trying to kidnap me into talking to you? Grow the fuck up. You were gone for almost three weeks with no word to anyone, and you've been back what? A few hours? And you're already all over me to talk? Unbelievable." She shook her head.

"That's not-"

"I swear to God if you say that's not what you meant, I am going to make sure to drive us both off the nearest bridge." Ace cut him off. "I'm really tired. Take me home."

"Yeah, sorry." Happy rubbed his own eyes. "Stupid idea. I've been driving since midnight, guess I'm not thinking straight."

More silence as Happy circled back around and put the truck in park. He turned to pull his bag from behind the seat, and Ace started to get out. Happy put a hand on her shoulder, lightly to not startle her. "I know I deserve it, but could you at least stop walking away from me?"

Ace's face softened for half a heartbeat, and she nodded wordlessly. Happy was surprised that she even waited for him to come around and open her door. He helped her down and tried not to be offended when she shook his hand loose. He followed her up the stairs and through the clubhouse, ignoring the look she shot him when he continued straight to her door.

"Can I at least ask why you moved all your shit out?" He asked quietly, and she turned to him, leaning back against the door frame. He leaned into her, one hand on the wall, not daring to actually touch her, though.

"The idea of being there, with you, after everything…" Ace shook her head, but looked back up at him. "It hurts too much, that's all."

"Ace…" Happy breathed, unable to say anything else, and his arms broke out in gooseflesh. He traced the curve of her cheek with the back of his fingers, careful to keep the rough plaster off of her skin.

"Don't. I'm really tired and so are you. I can't do this tonight." This time she didn't sound pissed, just really tired and broken.

"Yeah, we'll talk tomorrow. I'm beat, and so are you." Happy told her, and moving slowly, he kissed her forehead. "Get some sleep, baby."

Ace watched him walk back down the hall to his own room. Her whole body screamed at her to just go to him, and let him make everything better, but she knew that wouldn't change anything. She waited until he closed his door before she traced his path, knocking quietly on Tig's door. He opened it with a sheet wrapped around his hips, and a croweater tied facedown on the bed.

"Seriously, Tig?" She hissed, rolling her eyes.

"Where's Hap?" Tig asked, not even acknowledging the bondage situation going on in his bed.

"Went to bed. Which is what I'm trying to do, come on." Ace really wanted to be back in her room and alone.

"Yeah. You want to come in while I get your drugs?" He offered, stepping back.

"Ew, no, Tig. Hurry up, please." Ace spoke through gritted teeth, and Tig retreated to the bathroom, giving Ace a clear view of the ass end of the croweater. Ace wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Open." Tig demanded and shoved the pill in her mouth and handed her an unopened bottle of water. Ace toasted him with it and swallowed her drugs on her way back to the room.

Tig waited, counting down from ten in his head. Right on schedule, Happy's door opened.

"What was that about?" He demanded, and Tig tossed the prescription bottle at him.

"Sleeping pills from Donut." Tig said. "Now you can feed em to her every night." Then he shut the door, leaving Happy standing in the hallway.

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy came awake on a gasp, already reaching for his gun. It only took him a second to place where he was, but it was disorienting. The clock told him that it was close to three, but he couldn't process trying to lay back down and go to sleep, not without reassuring himself that Ace was alright. For a second he worried about how she would react if he showed up in her room, but the need to watch over her and keep her safe was too overwhelming.

He pulled on yesterday's jeans and dug out the key for Ace's room, and padded barefoot down the hall. The scrape of the key in the lock sounded explosive to him, but no one stirred. He opened the door an few inches, looking in on her, intending to go once he saw her, but he'd been lying to himself. She was curled up on one side of the bed, her hair across her face, and one hand reaching across the empty space.

Happy glanced up and down the hall before giving in and pushing through her door, closing it quietly behind him. He watched Ace closely for any sign of reaction to the noise, but her breathing didn't even change. He glanced over at the chair, but decided not to kid himself about his willpower. Prowling carefully, he climbed onto the bed next to her. When she still didn't stir, he gathered her gently against him, pushing her hair off of her face so he could see her. He kissed her lips once, twice, and then settled back, promising himself that he'd only stay for an hour. Holding her in the quiet dark, he was filled with gratitude that he had an opportunity to even try to make things right with her.

The sound of boots outside the door woke Happy for the second time, two hours later. He hadn't meant to fall asleep, but the hours of lost sleep had evidently caught up to him. He knew he needed to leave before she woke up and found him there, but she'd wrapped herself around him, her leg curled over his, and it broke something in him that he couldn't just stay. Closing his eyes for a moment to hold onto the feeling, he tried to memorize the way she felt against him, in case it was a while before he got to hold her again. Before he could lose his nerve, he slid out from underneath her, easing her back down against the pillows.

Happy locked her door, and pulled it closed very slowly, wincing at the click of the lock.

"Walk of shame?" Kozik was out in the hall, ready for work.

"Nothing like that, man. And you tell her you saw me this morning, I'll break your face." He growled.

"I wasn't going to tell her. I get it, you need to see that she's safe. Just be careful with her, she's still pretty fragile." Kozik told him, and then left without waiting for a reply.

**No Other Man Alive**

The alarm blasted Ace straight out of a delicious dream about being wrapped up with Happy, enjoying one of those slow, sweaty morning sack sessions that always left her ready to go right back to sleep. Groaning, she rolled until she could reach the alarm clock, turning the sound off. She buried her face in the pillow, thinking about going back to the dream, but then she picked her head up, looking around. The room was empty, but unless she was going very crazy, Happy had been there.

Ace ran her hand across the empty space, but the sheets were cool to the touch. Grabbing the other pillow, she pulled it to her face and breathed in. The scent of him was all over the pillow, and probably her skin, too. She thought that she should probably be pissed that he'd let himself into her room, but it felt right that he'd been there. Caught completely off guard, Ace found herself crying quietly into the pillow, torn between how badly she wanted him and the anger and pain and distrust that twisted her up inside.

When the tears finally stopped, Ace forced herself out of bed. She needed a shower and some coffee before she could face the day, and face Happy. She couldn't avoid him today, it wasn't fair to either of them to leave so many things unsaid.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	35. Chapter 35

**Disclaimer-I do not own any of the Sons, except Kozik, and any OCs. I do own NOMA. I'm also psyched to "meet" Gogo and Greg the Peg, because Chris Browning and Kurt Yaeger have both been pretty incredible to me over on Twitter. Great guys.**

Happy has considered just waiting until after his appointment to take a shower, but even he couldn't ignore how badly he smelled. The tape and plastic routine was a pain in the ass, and he hoped to Christ that he never had to do it ever again in his life. He shoved the mangled mess in the trash can and opened the bathroom door, toweling off his balls as he walked out. He froze when he spotted Ace, sitting in the chair, smirking.

"Uh, mornin'." He grunted, wrapping the towel around his hips. It wasn't really big enough for that, though, so he was still showing thigh like a stripper. Ace giggled, though, and it was so good to hear it that he didn't even mind knowing that he looked ridiculous.

"It's not like I haven't seen it all before." She snorted, getting herself somewhat under control.

"True." He grinned back at her, then sobered up. "I wasn't expecting you to be in here and I didn't know if it would make you uncomfortable or something."

"I just wanted to make sure you were up in time for your appointment. Big day and all." Ace explained hastily, and pretended to be very interested in her jeans while he got dressed, cheeks a little flushed.

"Thanks. Are you coming with?" Happy sat on the bed across from her to pull on his socks and boots, watching her from the corner of his eye.

"Uh, did you want me to?" Ace asked, sounding young and uncertain.

"Let me make this real clear, crazy Ace." Happy drawled, and waited until she was looking straight at him. "I always want you to come, no matter where I'm going."

"Oh." If he wasn't so worried about what the hell was going on in her head, he'd have been fascinated by the parade of expressions crossing her face. He decided that while he couldn't bring himself to grovel, yet, a little begging behind closed doors wouldn't hurt. He knelt at her feet, rubbing her knees, not wanting to push his luck too much.

"Come on, Ace." He persuaded. "Come with me, and afterward, we'll swap the truck for the Harley and go for a ride, get out of here for a while so we can talk." He was trying not to smile, because he could see her softening, but it was hard.

"I'll at least go with you to get your cast off." She told him, rolling her eyes. "I know what you're doing."

"Anything it takes." He told her, seriously. He'd been about to get off of the floor but was arrested by the sight of her hand inching toward his. She didn't touch him, just traced the metal band of the one ring he didn't take off, even in the shower. He held his breath and dared a look at her face; her brows were low, like she was trying to figure something out. He slid his hand, so that their fingers were loosely interlaced. "Say something."

"I don't know what to say." Ace whispered, and she looked so lost that he had to look away. He rested his forehead against her knee.

"Just say that we're gonna be alright again." He said, and didn't care that he sounded like he was begging, he was, and he would.

"It's not that easy, Hap." She answered, and he could feel her hand shaking when she laid it on the back of his head. "There's just too much that's happened."

"It could be. We'll just forget everything and start over, do better. _I _can do better." He looked up at her, willing her to give in, and put their whole mess of a past behind them. "I get it, baby, I fucked up, but I swear it'll be different, just-"

"Stop. Please, Happy, just stop, it's breaking my heart seeing you like this." Now she was the one begging, her voice shaking.

"Yeah. Sorry, I just thought, never mind. We should get going." He grunted, standing up, and giving her plenty of space to do the same.

**No Other Man Alive**

His hand and forearm were pale and scrawny, and downright disgusting when they stripped the cast off of him. He didn't even wait for the doc to give him the okay, he flexed his hand and then fisted it.

"Easy there." The doctor chuckled nervously, and Happy shot him a withering look.

The grip felt weak, and that made him nervous as hell. The doctor took the hand, running his thumbs along the bones, looking for God knows what, and Happy looked over his bent head at Ace. She must have known what he was worried about because she got up and came over.

"I'm sure everything is fine. It'll take a little while for your hand to get back to normal, right, Dr. Peterson?" Ace verbally nudged the doctor.

"Yes, yes, of course, just some time and work and you should be able to function just fine. Any spots where it feels numb?" The doctor pursued.

"Uh, the back of my hand. Feels like my hand fell asleep, is that bad?" He asked, and glance over his shoulder to Ace, who was scratching the back of his neck lightly, trying to keep him from flipping out.

"Well, it's to be expected with the severity of your crush wound. Hopefully in time, some of that feeling will return. The good news is that it shouldn't impair the function of the hand." The doctor dug in a drawer until he came up with one of those squishy stress ball things. "This will help the grip strength return to normal."

"Thank you, Doctor." Ace was the one who took it, and shook the doctor's hand. Happy was too preoccupied with trying to figure out whether he was going to be able to ride like he'd planned.

"Yes, well, best of luck." The doctor mumbled, and left the room quickly.

"Are you ok?" Ace asked, eyeing him warily.

"Yeah, I think so. Feels fucking weird." Happy was staring at his hand, it felt like it belonged to someone else.

"Come on, let's get out of here, hospitals still make me jumpy." Ace said, flipping the ball to him, which he caught with his newly freed right hand and dropped into his pocket.

"Shit, I didn't even think about that. Let's get you out of here." He said, and just because he could, he grabbed her hand with his. He saw her start to protest, but he cut her off. "Ace, I'm just trying to hold your hand. Quit shitting all over it."

"I just don't know what we're doing here." Ace sighed, but didn't pull her hand away. She traced the scars crossing the back of his hand with her finger, as he pulled her through the maze of hallways.

"We gonna head back to the clubhouse and drop off the truck, then we're going for a ride. That's all I'm trying to do." Happy told her through gritted teeth.

"I'm not trying to be a bitch here, but _can _you ride?" Ace asked dubiously, looking at his hand.

"Probably not very far, but we have shit we need to settle, and damn if I'm going to do that with brothers hanging outside the door listening in."

**No Other Man Alive**

"Come on, I know it's been a while, but you can't be that worried about riding again." Happy said, testing his hand on the throttle. Ace looked more skittish than he'd expected, and it made him even more nervous.

"No, it's not that, I-" Ace was rambling and then cut herself off, realizing that this was not the time to tell him she'd be riding plenty with Kozik. "You know what, nevermind that."

Ace braced a hand on his shoulder and swung her leg over, settling behind him, trying to put as much distance between them as she could. She started to tell him that this wasn't a good idea, that she wanted to get off, but he'd revved again, drowning her out, so she shut up and wrapped her hands in his cut.

"Good?" He asked, grinning over his shoulder, and she nodded, trying hard to find a smile for him. She knew how much it meant to him to be back riding again, and she didn't want to ruin this for him, even though she felt like she was being ripped apart. Happy didn't waste any time, heading out as fast as he could.

Happy knew where he wanted to take her, and headed for the waterfront. It felt amazing to be out of the cage and with his girl. The peace was going to be short lived, but as long as they were riding, they weren't fighting and she wasn't looking at him like he was killing her slowly. She even started to relax a little, distracted by the scenery. She'd dropped her hands down to his hips, and Happy leaned back into her. He felt her shift, but she didn't actually move away from him. His hand was starting to ache, and he flexed it before reaffirming his grip. He wished he could just keep going, and if it had just been him, he probably would have, but he wouldn't risk her safety.

The park he'd had in mind was less than a mile away. It was where he'd used to come when the Tacoma clubhouse felt too crowded, which had happened frequently when he'd sat at their table, more and more toward the end. It was a quiet little place, trees right up to the water, and he'd never brought anyone else back here. He parked the Harley without letting her off, wanting to keep her with him just for a minute longer. He killed the engine and hung his helmet off his handlebars, and rubbed his right hand with his left.

"Are you going to let me off?" Ace asked drily from behind him.

"I guess I could." Happy laughed and squeezed her knee, reaching around to pull her off with him. He didn't try to keep ahold of her this time, knowing that she was probably pretty wary of him and the conversation they had to have. He didn't want her any more spooked than she already was. He let her pick her way through the trees, just trailing her silently.

Ace sat cross-legged in the grass, looking out over the water. He loved watching her, and took voyeuristic pride knowing that she allowed him to observe her in a way no one else was privy to. He drifted closer, standing so that his shadow fell across her, but she didn't look at him.

"So how do we do this?" She asked, still staring at the horizon.

"I don't know. I guess we both have questions and explanations, so one of us has to start." He didn't have the first clue how to have a talk like this, especially given how badly this was likely to end.

"Were you in Fallbrook the whole time?" Ace surprised him by volunteering to start.

"Uh, most of it, but not the whole time. When I took off, I just headed East into Idaho and drive myself into the ground, then crashed for the day. From there I headed to Indian Hills, caught about four hours of sleep, then I went to Fallbrook." He ticked off his relevant destinations on his fingers, even though she still wasn't looking at him. "I stopped and saw Ma on my way back. I think she might be more pissed off than you are."

"Is she going to be alright?" Ace asked in a small voice. "I never really asked after everything that happened."

"She's a tough old broad, she'll be fine." Happy told her, wondering if he was trying to convince her or himself. "My turn. How'd you end up in Tig's bed?"

"Are you seriously accusing me of-"

"Chill the fuck out, I'm not accusing you of fucking him." Happy cut her off. "I just wanted to know how fucked up you got."

"Oh. I wasn't sleeping, so I tried whiskey as a sleeping aid and overshot the goal by a lot. Tigger and Koz were worried about leaving me alone, that's all." Ace brushed the entire episode off, and Happy thought that maybe he'd have to hit up Kozik or maybe Tig for a more accurate assessment. Kozik seemed less hostile at the moment.

"How much is a lot? And don't bullshit me, because you know one them will rat you out." Happy pointed out, crossing his arms across his chest. Ace finally looked up at him, over her shoulder, sighing.

"Can you maybe not loom over me when you're interrogating?" She asked, toeing her boots and socks off and leaning back on her hands.

"Sure." Happy sat behind her, then lay back, wrapping arm around her waist, drawing her back so her head rested on his stomach. He pulled the band from her hair, and spread it across his body so that it trailed onto the grass. "Talk."

"I finished off a bottle of Jack, it wasn't really intentional." Ace was picking at a thread on her jeans, still avoiding his eyes and he decided that he would definitely push Kozik for the whole story.

"Tig said you're not drinking like that anymore." Happy was playing with the ends of her hair, wrapping it around his right hand, the contrast of her dark strands against his unnaturally pale skin intrigued him.

"I actually haven't had a drink at all since then." She twisted her head back to watch his face.

"Is that like a permanent thing?" He asked cautiously, not sure how he felt about it.

"No, I'm not an alcoholic, but it seemed safer to stop until we settled…whatever."

"Makes sense." He nodded. "Your turn."

"OK. What exactly do you want from me?" Ace rolled on her side, supporting her head on her hand. He reluctantly let go of her hair, and threw his arm over his face.

"Try to be a little more direct, why don't you?" He grumbled, but smiled anyway, because he knew the answer to this one. "I want to be with you, that wasn't ever a question."

"Really? Because you certainly seemed to be questioning it when you _left."_ She snarled, and he could feel her starting to shut him out.

"Nah, I didn't ever doubt that I wanted to be with you. I doubted like hell that I could fucking do it right."

"So skipping town is your version of doing things right?" She shot back, and even though he knew that she was being deliberately combative, his temper still flared.

"No, that was my version of not making shit worse and saying and doing things that I couldn't take back." He told her, his jaw clenched.

"That's your excuse for disappearing for weeks? It was better than what you really wanted to do?" Ace scoffed, shaking her head and she started to shift to get up, and he wrapped a hand around her bicep, holding her in place.

"It felt like every time I turned around I was disappointing you, and I thought that maybe if I just had some space I could figure out how to be better." Happy felt like he couldn't find the right words to explain the way he had hated who he'd become, reacting and chasing problems instead of thinking and planning so that there weren't any problems.

"So it took four states for you to feel like you had enough distance from me to figure out that you actually wanted me?"

"No, it took four states for me to figure out that being away from you was complete bullshit, and I couldn't fix shit if I couldn't face it." He let go of her arm, and traced the line of her jaw with the back of his left hand. She pulled away, rolling back, breaking the eye contact.

"I just can't get past the fact that it, that _I _wasn't worth sticking around for. I'm tired of being so easy to leave behind." She brought the heels of her hands up to her eyes, blocking everything out, and clearly trying to keep her emotions in check.

"You are never easy to leave, I've been doing it for over a decade and it's downright fucking painful. I always come back, though."

"I think I might be done." She said, sounding surprised at her own words. His entire body locked up and he felt like he had the night he'd been garroted, completely incapable of breathing no matter how hard he tried.

"No. _No."_ Happy sat up and pulled her up to. He had both of his hands on her face, forcing her to look at him. "No. We are not _done."_

"I can't keep doing this." Tears were flowing down her cheeks and Happy was trying to wipe them away, but they were falling too fast for him to keep up with. "I love you, maybe too much, because I'm losing myself. I always thought that being with you would feel like standing on the top of the world, but I don't feel like that, Hap. I feel weak. I feel _weak _and I hate it."

"Shh, no." He pulled her frantically against him, like any second she would disappear if he didn't anchor her. "You're not weak, Ace. You're the strongest person I know. Don't you dare give up on me."

Ace was crying openly now, and Happy was trying to pull her closer and closer. He felt like he was holding her together, or maybe failing at holding her together. That sick feeling of not being enough for her rose up in him, and he closed his eyes against the doubt. He knew that he couldn't afford even a moment of weakness right now or he could really lose her. It was entirely possible that he wouldn't ever be good enough, but he couldn't face the possibility of giving her up. He held her, rocking her slightly until she'd quieted, her breathing beginning to slow from the panicked gasps and gulps.

Happy traced the letters of his name through the fabric of her shirt, he didn't need to see the ink, he knew exactly where each line of it was. Ace was starting to pull away from him, wiping at her face with her sleeve. He brushed her hand away and cleaned up her face for her. She sat passive, like a child. His thumb ran across her bottom lip, and she looked up at him through her lashes. Before she could protest, Happy pulled her face up to his, gently covering her mouth with his. She didn't kiss him back, but she didn't push him away, either. When he failed to get any reaction from her, he released her lips, resting his forehead against hers.

"Just wait before you make up your mind. Give me just a little more time." He pleaded with her to understand, but she was shaking her head.

"I can't, Happy." She whispered, her eyes welling up again.

"Yeah you can, you don't even hafta to do anything, just let me do the work, I swear I'm not gonna hurt you." He could see that she didn't believe him, but she shrugged anyway.

"It'll be a few weeks before I make enough money to get my own place." She told him, and he knew that was as close to a surrender as she was going to give him. "I need to get back."

"Alright." Happy stood, bringing her to her feet with him. He tucked Ace against him, under his arm, and the way she just allowed it worried him.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	36. Chapter 36

**Disclaimer-I am not the owner of Sons of Anarchy, just NOMA, my OCs, and a 10 hour road trip with three kids.**

This time Ace woke up the second Happy slid out of her bed. Most mornings she slept through him leaving, so it was nice to have conscious confirmation that he was actually sleeping in her room and that she wasn't just imagining the scent of him all over her sheets. She rolled further into the warm space he'd left behind, trying to recapture the pleasant feeling of safety that came from sleeping with him. It didn't work, Ace couldn't get comfortable again, tossing from side to side and wrapping her body around his pillow. She finally gave up, punching the pillow in frustration, then sitting up.

She looked automatically to her night stand. In the four days since Happy had gotten his cast off, he'd left a variety of random gifts there, and this morning was no different. She couldn't help the snort of laughter, because really, only Happy could consider a replacement Glock with a box of ammo a romantic gesture, but for him, it was. Unable to resist, Ace field stripped it, examining each component and reassembled it quickly. She would have to find time today to shoot, make sure she got comfortable with her new firearm.

First, though, she had a date with Tigger to get ready for. Ace dressed in a tank top, jeans, and boots, throwing a hoodie on over. She tucked the new toy into the back of her waistband, figuring that it would be handy for what they were planning anyway. She didn't bother locking her door, just headed down to Tig's door, kicking it a few times until she heard a thump followed by a girly squeal of indignation.

"You're early." Was all Tig said as he pushed the naked sweetbutt out into the hall past her.

"Yeah." Ace waited until the girl cleared out, not wanting her business all over the clubhouse. "Hap woke me up on his way out this morning. Come on, I'll cook and then I want to try again."

"You still don't believe me that the only place you went wrong was putting your piece down?" Tig yawned, scrubbing his face with his hand. "You know, I'm starting to think you just like getting your ass kicked, dollface."

"Put a shirt on, Tigger." Ace told him, and headed for the kitchen, sure that Tig wouldn't blow her off. They'd done this a few times, running through the night she'd been abducted, trying to find any opening where she could have gotten away. So far all she'd gotten were some interesting bruises and one goose egg on the back of her head, from where Tig had accidentally tripped her and she'd hit her head on a barbell. Tig kept insisting that she hadn't had a chance, but she wasn't quite ready to believe him.

Tig stayed where he was, watching to make sure Ace didn't change her course. When she'd turned the corner into the clubhouse, he counted to ten and knocked on Happy's door, second guessing the shit out of what he was about to do. Happy opened the door and Tig thought he looked like shit.

"You look like shit." He informed him, not one for inside thoughts. "I'm doing you a fucking favor with this shit, so don't fuck it up. You want to know what happened the night your old lady got snatched up, you can come down in 30 and watch me work her through it. We've been doing it for weeks, she's completely cool with it, and if you flip out like a pussy, I'm going to put your head through a window."

Tig turned to head back to his own room, forgetting that he hadn't put on a shirt yet.

"Nice ink. Bro." Happy's voice was cold and hard and gave him a momentary pause. Happy was like a wounded dog, though, he wasn't going to bite unless you looked weak, so he threw him the bird over his shoulder and kept walking.

"Add it to my tab, fucker." He called back and kicked the door shut without ever looking behind him.

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy lay back, bench pressing furiously in an attempt to forget the sound of completely uninhibited laughter that he'd stumbled on creeping past the kitchen. He literally could not remember the last time he'd heard Ace genuinely, deep down belly laugh. But Tig had had her really going in the kitchen, and it had taken Happy a really long minute to identify the sick, angry feeling in his gut as jealousy. He'd never had any reason to be jealous of another man, especially with Ace, and he didn't have a fucking clue what to do with that shit.

He dropped the barbell onto its rack, and sat up when he heard them coming down the stairs, pulling his shirt off to wipe the sweat from his face. Ace was still chuckling every few words, like she couldn't get entirely free of whatever had set her off. She was looking over her shoulder up at Tig when she hit the floor and he couldn't believe that she was this easy with Tig, when any time they were awake in a room together she retreated so far into herself that he couldn't get through to her. Their only real moments when her guard came down were at night, first when she stopped by his room to get her sleeping pill and then later, when he let himself into her bed. He knew that she had to be onto him about his middle of the night visits, but she hadn't told him to quit, hadn't mentioned it at all, so he continued. He'd been leaving things behind for her, too, a phone to replace the one she'd lost, same with the Glock he'd left this morning, he'd found some old tattoo magazines in his closet that he knew she'd like, too.

Her face was still all lit up when she finally turned, and she stopped when her gaze landed on him. Her face immediately closed off and he considered just leaving, but Tig's face warned him off of that. Tig gave Ace the same glare, pushing her toward the equipment desk.

"Quit acting like a bitch, he lives here, too." Tig scolded her, but there wasn't any more than his usual callousness in the rebuke. He kicked back in a folding chair, and lit a cigarette. Happy watched as Ace plucked it from his mouth and took a long drag on it before giving it back. She tried to hand Tig the supplies to wrap her hands, but he shook his head. "Nah, you got an old man, let him do that shit."

Ace looked at him, and he nodded, hating that she still questioned his willingness to do anything for her. She dragged her feet crossing the gym floor, but didn't hesitate to straddle the bench in front of him. She pulled the Glock from under her hoodie, placing it carefully between them, and then dropped the wraps and tape, too.

"When'd you pick up that habit?" Happy asked, tilting his head toward Tig, still smoking, head hung over the back of the chair.

"It's not really a habit, I just like stealing hits every now and again. It reminded me of you while you were gone, I guess." She mumbled the last part, eyes on the bench. He nodded wordlessly, not liking that she was smoking in the least, but her explanation didn't leave him any room to comment. He set to work wrapping up her hands with care. "Thanks, by the way." He looked up from his task, eyebrows raised, and was momentarily stunned by how clear and big her eyes were this close. "For replacing my gun and my phone. That was really nice and you didn't have to. So yeah, thanks."

"Sure." He grunted, dropping his eyes back to his task, not wanting her to see how badly she affected him.

"I should probably go shoot this afternoon before I go to work, do you want to come along?" Ace's offer surprised the shit out of him, and he looked up at her sharply.

"Yeah, absolutely." He couldn't help grinning at her, it was the first time she'd volunteered to spend any time with him, and she smiled a little back. It occurred to him that the last place he wanted her to spend any time alone was out at Cat's range, anyway. "Did any of the old ladies come see you while I was gone?" He asked her, pounding down the tape on her knuckles, testing it.

"No. Tig and Kozik pretty much kept everyone at bay for me." She shrugged, and then caught his gaze again. "Are you sure you want to watch this?"

"Nowhere close, but Tig said I should." He told her, and ran both his hands up her legs from her knees, and pulled her closer. She looked back over her shoulder again to Tig, but he was still ignoring them. Happy kissed her forehead, and dragged his nose down hers. "I miss you." He blurted out without even thinking the words before they were out of his mouth. Her eyes were huge with surprise that he'd said that now, and he needed her to answer and not just brush him off. "Tell me you miss me." He demanded, voice harsh, and for a second she looked like she was going to pull away from him.

"You know I do, Happy." She told him directly, her face softening.

"Let me in, baby." He pushed her, taking very advantage of any opening she was giving him. "Come on, I know you don't like this any more'n I do."

"Come on! You didn't wake me up early to watch you two canoodle! Let's go." Tig called, kicking the chair he'd been sitting in. Ace looked back to Happy, who shoved her gently away.

"Go let Tig kick your ass." He grunted, determined to stay where he was.

"Hey." Tig pointed at him. "Pick up something heavy, I want a warning if you can't handle yourself."

"He'll be fine, Tigger, leave him alone." Ace warned, stripping off the hoodie and dropping it on the floor next to the weight bench, and picking up the Glock.

Happy physically held himself in place, watching Tig and Ace move around each other in what was clearly an easy routine. It grated on him that they had moved into a new level of comfort with each other. Ace had always been at ease with Tig because she'd known he could be trusted, but it appeared he'd forced them further together, when he'd put her in Tig's care at the exchange, and again when he'd skipped out without considering who she would be turning to. Happy hadn't really had an opportunity to observe Ace with Kozik, since Kozik had all but quit staying at the clubhouse since he'd rolled back into town, but he wondered if they had developed this weird closeness, too. Kozik would worry him more than Tigger, with his laid back goofy good looks, but he didn't like how much she was leaning on Tig, either.

It was a monumental task to keep himself in place when Tig grabbed Ace by the back of the head, slamming her face first into the heavy bag. He knew that she wasn't hurt by the vicious elbow she landed to Tig's gut, but every cell in him wanted to be delivering the ass kicking of a lifetime for it, anyway, even more when he remembered that this was just a reenactment of what she'd already been through. Tig was controlling her with minimal effort, despite how furiously she was trying to change the outcome. Tig leveled a look at him over her head when he'd subdued her in a loose chokehold, and Happy nodded, knowing that this whole demonstration was Tig's way of letting him in on something Ace probably wouldn't have.

"You ain't any faster or doing anything new, so you'd still get your face jacked as soon as you made it to the door." Tig told her, pushing her away from him.

"There has to be a hole somewhere." Ace was panting and Happy watched her pull the hem of her shirt up to wipe her brow. The flat expanse of skin made him want to go to his knees in front of her and clean the sweat from her skin. With his tongue.

"We can do it again, but it's not gonna turn out any different." Tig warned her. "Face it, the only way you fucked up was putting your gun down when you weren't in a secure room."

"Tig's right." Happy called, and got up, sauntering over slowly to make sure he had himself well in check. "You lost the battle the second you put down your piece. Hitting your face into that…"

"Mirror." Ace supplied, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, that was a calculated move to disorient you. You couldn't have gotten away from multiple assailants without being able to see straight." Happy shook his head, watching her look from him to Tig and back again.

"Well that just fucking _sucks!"_ She hissed, looking around for something to kick, but there wasn't anything in range.

"Hey." Happy grabbed her chin. "You didn't do anything wrong. Let that shit go."

"But-" Ace started to protest, but he cut her off with a kiss, then pulled back to look at her.

"Stop. It wasn't your fault, Ace." He told her again, and watched Tig slinking away up the stairs.

"It feels like I should have been able to do something." Ace told him, her brows scrunched together.

"Like what? Fought harder?" He asked, pulling her to him, so his stacked arms cocooned her against his chest.

"I don't know, I guess so." Her reply was muffled, but he could feel her lips brush his bare skin and his cock immediately took note.

"Nah, didn't you tell me that sometimes it's smarter not to fight, that it would keep you from getting killed?" He asked, stroking the column of her neck with one thumb, finding her pulse and reading that she wasn't as unaffected by the proximity as she was pretending.

"Yes." She admitted reluctantly, her taped hands spread across his ribs, rubbing slow circles.

"Do you think they would have even hesitated to kill you if you'd put up too much of a struggle?" His voice was rough, he felt like he was choking on the possibility.

"No, I guess not." He knew from the tone of her voice that this hadn't actually occurred to her before.

"Good, so shut up and let me be grateful that you're not dead." He told her gruffly, and felt her laugh slightly.

"You have such a way with words, big man." She snorted, propping her chin on his chest to look up at him.

He didn't know if it was her use of his nickname, or just the effect of her tits all pressed against his bare skin, but it only took an instant for the mood to shift between them. Two months ago, he would have already had her on the ground and halfway naked, but he was a more cautious man these days and Ace was running so hot and cold with him that he held out for as long as he could, trying to give her time to push him away if she wanted. She was caught in the same thrall, though, bottom lip caught between her teeth, eyes darting from his eyes to his mouth and back again. His mouth was on hers before his next heartbeat, forcing her jaw wide. She whimpered, but didn't back down from the onslaught.

When he couldn't get enough, Happy dragged her off of her feet, until she could wrap her legs around his hips. He moved from her mouth to her neck, biting down at the juncture of her shoulder. The sound she made was pure wanting and he was nearly cross eyed with needing to get inside of her. Holding onto her tightly, he went to his knees, and then laid her out underneath him, going back to her mouth. She moved restlessly underneath him, and his dick was so hard it bordered on painful, but it didn't stop him from rolling his hips against her. He knew he'd hit a sweet spot when she arched and threw her head back, presenting her throat to him. He scraped his teeth down the column of her throat, then licked the hollow.

Happy hitched her right leg higher on his hip, and would have dismissed the small metallic ping if Ace hadn't reacted like it had been a shotgun blast. Her eyes were huge, and she had the guiltiest look on her face. He closed his eyes for a second, sighing heavily, and then looked deliberately down, dropping her leg so her boot landed on the ground with a thump. The ring was sitting on the floor, and its presence shoved all the reasons this hookup would be a bad idea right down his throat. He looked back to Ace, but she'd crossed her forearms over her face, her hands still wrapped and taped. He pulled away from her, sitting back on his heels and retrieved the ring, holding it carefully between thumb and forefinger.

"I wondered where this got to." He said, and rubbed her leg with his other hand. "I'm sort of relieved that you didn't just pawn it."

"I wouldn't do that." She said from under her arms.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that you're not willing to actually put it on." He laid it on her chest.

"Hap." She warned, finally surfacing, tucking her arms behind her head. "I can't."

"Come on." He grinned mischievously at her. "Just let me see if it fits." He was just toying with her, wanting to see how far she'd let him push her.

"It does." She answered and he felt his eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

"Really? Hmm, that would mean you had it on at some point." He teased her, crawling back up and pinning her wrists together against the floor, the ring sandwiched between them. He nipped at the skin just below her ear. "Put it back on."

"You're playing dirty." She was trying to wriggle her hands free, but gave up when he showed no signs of relenting and letting her go. "I'm not putting it on now."

"Does that mean you'll do it later?" He was laughing softly against her neck, and loving that she was actually playing with him. She shook her head in refusal. "What if I said please?"

"You never say please." She pointed out, turning her face toward his so that there wasn't any space between them.

"Please." He said, all laughter gone from his voice.

"Don't ask me that, Hap, not yet." She breathed, and her eyelids were heavy. He got the distinct impression that she'd give in if he just pushed the issue, but that it would be a hollow victory.

"Ok." He agreed and kissed her again before letting go of her wrists and rolling off of her onto his back.

"I'm sorry." Ace didn't move, and her voice was very small. They lay side by side, and even though he should probably be disappointed, he felt pretty at peace that they seemed to be making some progress.

"Don't be, I'm good." He reassured her, tracing her forearm with the back of his hand.

"What changed your mind?" She asked him, still not moving, just staring at the ceiling.

"Not what. Who." He corrected her. "Juice traced the cell I was using and showed up at my door and refused to leave until I did."

"Really?" That had gotten her attention, and she rolled to her side to face him, scooping the ring up into her hand.

"Yeah. He pointed out that it was a stupid fucking thing to get all hung up on and told me that I was acting like a dumbass."

"Is he alright?" She asked, only half joking.

"Yeah, he's a good kid. And he's your friend's old man, I didn't want to have to hurt him."

"Thanks, I think." She smiled and he sat up before he was too tempted to roll her back underneath him and damn the long term consequences.

"Come on, we both need showers and then you need to get used to that piece." He told her, pulling her to her feet. He grabbed the scissors from the desk and started to cut the tape from her hands. She stopped him with a hand over his. He looked at her questioningly.

"Thanks." She said, and he nodded, understanding perfectly.

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy kicked Tig's door before heading to his own room.

"Yeah?" Tig answered like this was a huge intrusion.

"Thanks." Happy said, and Tig just nodded and shut the door.

**No Other Man Alive**

"Hey Happy!" Cat called from behind the counter when they got to her range. She started to come around, but Happy didn't even slow, just waved her off. Ace looked from Happy to Cat and back again, there was definitely a weird vibe going on, but Happy wasn't giving anything away. He pushed her ahead of him, pulling her piece from her waistband in the process, and went straight for the door to the range.

"Everything alright?" She asked, snagging the G39 back from him, field stripping it and reassembling it, then loading the clip and sliding it home.

"Yep." Happy answered in a monotone, pulling his own SIGs from his holster, and following suit.

Ace watched him for another minute, just enjoying the efficient ease he had with his tools. When he didn't look her way again, she shrugged and pulled her ear pro on. She'd come to shoot, she may as well get down to it. The rhythm of range practice was familiar, and even though it was a new gun, it felt just like she was used to. It was one of the things she loved about Glocks, they were consistent and reliable, and got the job done every time. She'd burned through a fair amount of ammo when Happy got her attention.

"Yeah?" She asked, pulling one side of her ear pro off of her ear.

"I'm gonna go grab some different targets." He told her, placing his SIGs on her shooting ledge. She nodded and turned back to her lane. When she'd finished another clip and Happy still wasn't back, she put the gun down and tracked to the viewing window. Happy and Cat were separated by the counter, but it was clear that whatever they were talking about, it wasn't going well. He was leaning across the counter, gesturing violently with his hand, and she didn't need to see his face to know that he was pissed off in a big way. She watched for another few seconds, turning the confrontation over in her mind, then returned to the shooting lane. She shot with half her concentration, still thinking about the hostility she'd witnessed and wondering what could have happened. Happy always treated Cat with kid gloves, but it definitely looked like the gloves were off today. She didn't look away from her target when she saw Happy come up next to her from the corner of her eye. He waited until she was done, then slid the headphones from her ears.

"You good with the piece?" He asked her, taking it from her hand and putting it down.

"Sure. It's a Glock, it acts like a Glock." She answered, careful to keep her eyes trained on him.

"Alright, let's take off then." Happy told her, and reholstered his SIGs. He was already headed for the door before she could even secure her Glock. Ace scrambled to catch up to him, he was marching through the shop without looking at her or Cat, and pushed through the door.

"Ace!" Cat called after her, and Ace paused uncertainly. "A word to the wise, honey. Don't expect a proud man to grovel, there are hundreds of women waiting in the wings to take your place if he gets tired of the punishment routine."

Ace felt her temper flare, but forced herself not to let it show on her face. "Cat, you don't know a thing about him."

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy took her back to the park, wanting to chill the fuck out before he had to go back to the clubhouse for Church. He also wanted to give her a chance to ask any questions, because there was no way she hadn't picked up on the weirdness between him and Cat. He wasn't sure whether he wanted her to ask or not. This time he was the one staring out over the water and she was studying him.

"You were there that day." She said, starting to put the pieces together.

"Yeah." He laid back so he could watch her face. As wary as he was of her reaction, it still fascinated him watching her face when she was onto something. She was shaking her head slowly.

"What did she say to you?" Ace asked, eyes narrowing as she started to draw some conclusions.

"Just asked some questions." He answered noncommittally.

"Don't fucking cover for her. She's the one who got you riled up over the Shark thing, isn't she?" Ace had the bit in her teeth now, and if she wasn't ready to spit fire, he would have grinned at how smart his bitch was. "She's the reason you took off."

"It was stupid, and I knew better, but, yeah, I let her get in my head with that shit." He admitted, not proud of it. He watched her walk away, pacing the waterline for a minute before she came back.

"I didn't fuck him." She said, staring down at him, arms crossed.

"I know." Happy told her, matter-of-fact. "Can I ask a question, though?"

"You can ask." She told him, still closed off and wary.

"Was he trying to cut in on me?" Happy asked quietly.

"No, he really was just there to make sure I got back alright. He'd gone to get ice for me, that's why the door was open." Ace said quietly, and sat down next to him, and he hooked his arm over her knee.

"Ok." He nodded, and played with the seam of her jeans. They were quiet for a long time.

"I have to tell you something." Ace said, shifting nervously, and she had his entire attention.

"That doesn't sound good." He observed cautiously.

"It's not that big of a thing, I swear, but Kozik said you'd be pissed and I didn't want you to hear it from anyone else." She was rubbing her palms on her jeans nervously.

"Quit talking around whatever it is and spit it out." He ordered crossly, not liking where this was headed.

"I was riding with Koz while you were gone." She blurted out and looked at him expectantly, like she was prepared for him to explode. He didn't, though, just sat and absorbed it.

"Why?" He finally asked, watching her face closely.

"Uh the first time was because he and Tig said I had to go and eat and he didn't have his car." She told him, twisting the hem of her shirt. "And after that, I guess he was trying to draw you out in case you were still in Tacoma."

Happy just nodded, face blank. She was anticipating him being pissed at her, but he wasn't, not at her anyway. "Alright. Thanks for telling me."

"That's it?" She cocked her head and looked at him. "You're not mad?"

"Come here." He told her, and pulled her down next to him. "I'm not mad at you."

**No Other Man Alive**

"You sure I can't just drop you at work?" Happy asked her in the clubhouse parking lot. She was holding the keys to the truck, and he didn't fucking like sending her off alone at all.

"I'm perfectly capable of driving myself, Hap." She rolled her eyes. "Besides, you have Church, and then you're gonna get loaded, and I don't want to have to wait around for you. I'll be fine."

Happy didn't say anything because he didn't really want to let her onto the fact that his after Church plan wasn't getting loaded. At least not at first.

"Go on." He told her. "Or else we're both gonna be late."

He waited while she climbed into the driver's seat and shut her in, standing his ground until she'd pulled out of the lot. He looked across to where Kozik was smoking, holding up a wall and caught his gaze. He stared him down for a long minute and headed for the stairs.

"Hey, Killah-" Kozik tried to head off, he knew exactly what Happy was pissed about.

"Don't." Happy warned him, dodging him easily. "I'll deal with you after Church."

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace rubbed her eyes and pulled into the lot carefully. Even well after one in the morning, the club was still partying hard, so she parked farther away from stairs than usual. She groaned as her boots hit the ground, pulling the strap of her bag over her head. She scanned the lot, but didn't see Happy or Tig, so she set off for the stairs, smiling tightly at the greetings thrown her way.

Opening the clubhouse door, Ace winced as the smoke burned her eyes. She squinted, trying to locate a friendly face, finally catching sight of Happy, Kozik, and Tig deep in a corner. Kozik had a little Vietnamese spinner rubbing his shoulders for him, but the area was thankfully free of any other sweetbutts. Happy had his back to the door, so she pushed through the crowd to get to him, leaning over the back of his chair, running her hands down his chest. Then she spotted the ice resting on his right hand, and the blood and bruises on Kozik's face.

"Hey baby." He stuck the joint in his mouth and used his free hand to pull her around onto his lap.

"Hey nothing, what happened to your hand?" She demanded, taking the joint and putting in between her own lips.

"I'm fine, relax." He told her, taking it back again.

"Really? Because it sure looks like you busted it on, oh, I don't know, Kozik's face." She hissed. "You told me you weren't mad."

"I told you I wasn't mad at you. And Koz and I are fine now, it won't ever be mentioned again." He told her seriously. "This is how shit gets settled, Ace. Let it go."

"If you say so." She shook her head and hit the joint again when he held it to her mouth. "I'm going to bed."

"You're not gonna hang?" He asked, looking confused.

"No, I'm tired, I just want to go pass out and not have to play old lady. You have fun." She wiggled off of his lap and he let her go reluctantly.

"You sure?" He asked again, reaching out and latching onto her wrist.

"Yes, Happy. I'm really fucking tired." She snapped, and pulled her arm away.

"Alright. Do you need me to unlock my door so you can grab your meds?" He tossed the bag of ice on the table in front of him, but Ace shook her head.

"No, I'm good." She shoved him back in the chair and melted back into the crowd, drifting toward the dorms. She wrinkled her nose at some of the sounds coming from behind closed doors and wondered if she should have taken Happy up on his offer. Even when her door was closed and locked behind her, Ace could still hear the high pitched porn track playing in the next room.

Ace was still awake almost three hours later when she heard the key in her lock. She didn't move or speak until he'd come around to the side of the bed, just watched as he peeled off his shirt. He looked over his shoulder and froze when he caught her watching him. He opened his mouth to make some sort of excuse, but Ace shook her head and pulled back the covers for him.

"It's not like I don't know you've been in here every night." She said tiredly, scooting further down under the covers. He nodded and made quick work of stripping down to his boxers, not wanting to give her a chance to change her mind. He climbed in tentatively, rolling toward her.

"You sure?" He asked, even though he was already trying to pull her closer.

"S'fine." She slurred, letting him settle her where he wanted. "Tired of fighting."

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	37. Chapter 37

**Disclaimer-Had a dream that I owned the Sons of Anarchy, but then I woke up. What isn't a dream is having the incredible privilege of owning this story, my original characters, and a fantastic vintage inspired polka dot dress. **

Happy woke completely content, and resolved to stay still for as long as he could manage. He was stretched out across his wife's tight little body, pinning her underneath him. When he managed to peel his eyes open, he was happy to find her face turned toward him. She was still dead to the world, her face open and peaceful in a way he hadn't seen for too long a time. She was breathing evenly, her lips just barely parted, and it took incredible will power not to bite the bottom one.

Watching her sleep, he thought about all the ways he'd railroaded her into where she was right now. Even when he'd first told her that he would let her go start over somewhere new, he knew he'd been manipulating her, using her inexperience and their history to guarantee she'd go the way he wanted. He'd also known that fucking her would cement her not inconsiderable loyalty to him, and frankly, that single minded, fierce focus of hers was likely the only reason she was still sticking it out with him. Most women as strong and smart as she was would have put him in the past and left him there, but somehow their history and her fealty outweighed her need to run.

Happy had so far been content to let her instincts work to his benefit, but he felt unexpectedly remorseful for binding her so completely to him. When she'd said that she was done, he'd feared that she might actually try to walk, but with a little time and distance he could see that she wouldn't; not unless he opened the door for her. It was a sick feeling to consider giving her an opening to leave him, but he felt a little bit like he owed it to her to give her a real chance if she wanted it.

He forced himself to think about what shit would look like if they weren't together. He figured keeping her in Tacoma was the way to go, he came through here enough to keep an eye on her, and Kozik could handle shit when he wasn't. His mind was already on the night in Fallbrook, and adding Kozik to the mix had him remembering telling Kozik that he knew Ace would land in someone's bed if it wasn't his. He didn't know if he could take that call from a brother and not come back to kick someone's teeth in. Even worse if his replacement ended up actually being a Son, an all too real possibility given her reputation.

Unable to stand the thought and remain still, Happy gave in to the earlier temptation and took her bottom lip gently between his teeth, then sucked it into his mouth, running his tongue along it. She was beginning to stir beneath him, and he slid his hand under the hem of her tank top, spreading it across her ribs, feeling her breathing change as she grew more aware of him. He knew she was awake when he felt her lips curve into a small smile.

"Hi there." She said, her voice thick and raspy from sleep.

"Hey." He opened his eyes to find her eyes semi open and studying him. He rolled further onto her, sliding a knee between her legs. He watched her face cautiously, kneading her side with the hand under her shirt, and went for her mouth again. She shifted under him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down to her. He went willingly, all thoughts of letting her go fleeing his mind. All his attention was on the woman in bed with him, and what it would take to get her naked.

In true Ace fashion, she shocked the shit out of him by pushing him back far enough that she could pull her tank off, tossing it off of the bed. He was certain that he had a dumbstruck look on his face, and he felt like maybe he should be checking in with her to make sure that they had the same end game, but she was pulling herself up to meet his mouth and he was lost. He had a hand buried in her hair, trying desperately not to treat her as roughly as he wanted.

Even though she was under him, Ace still managed to completely overwhelm him. She'd torn her mouth from his, moving to bite and suck on his shoulder. One of her hands had snaked between them, cupping his balls through the insubstantial fabric of his boxers. Her hand was hot on him, and he was suddenly and completely incapable of holding his head up any longer, just letting it fall on the pillow. He groaned, and tried not to think about how long it had been since he'd cum inside her. He wanted to just be grateful if all he got was a handjob, but his dick had definite opinions that included nothing less than getting balls deep inside her.

He was disappointed when she pulled her hands away, but only for an instant, because she was shoving at the waistband of his boxers. He picked his head up to look at her face and started to open his mouth, intending to make sure she was good with where this was heading, but she covered his mouth with her hand.

"I miss being with you." She told him, her voice still rough. "I'm turned on and I want you, don't fucking complicate it."

Happy nodded solemnly, and she removed her hand, but not fast enough to keep him from biting down on her pinkie. He was scrambling to kick his boxers off while tongue fucking her mouth. The leash on his self control was barely holding on and he was desperate to get inside her. He slid down her body, their skin beginning to turn slick between them, and paid appropriate homage to her tits. When she moaned, he took the opening and shoved two fingers into her mouth. She sucked them hard and the sensation went straight to his cock. When he could manage to drag his face away from her rack, he looked up to see her smiling smugly around his fingers. She bit down on his fingers before she let him pull his hand back.

He sat back, peeling the panties down her legs, always with the black lace. It drove him insane. He eased her knees open and slid a single finger inside her. She was wet and hot and he couldn't help licking his lips, knowing how good she tasted when she was this soaked and needy. It was almost a disappointment that he couldn't check himself long enough to bury his face in her pussy, but he would lost his fucking mind if he didn't get his cock in her soon.

"Hap…" Ace moaned, watching him, her eyes half lidded. "Come _on."_

Not needing to be told twice, Happy covered her with his body, sucking the taste of her off of his finger before pulling her mouth back to his. Ace was the one who reached between them to line him up, and she was even tighter than he expected. He kept perfectly still, both to make sure that she was alright and also because he was afraid he might cum too soon otherwise. She wasn't having any of it, though, the heel of her right foot dug into his ass and she arched underneath him.

"Jesus, Ace, how quick do you want this to be over?" He growled, clamping a hand down on her hip to keep her still. A flash of amusement crossed her eyes before she pushed herself up and bit his lip, stretching it before releasing it and kissing him.

"But I'm so close already." She hummed against his mouth, and she wasn't lying, barely a minute after he began to carefully move in her, Ace was cumming on a gasp.

"Shit." Happy cursed, watching her face. As loudly as his dick was demanding to slam into her until he came, too, he kept an iron grasp on himself, wanting to draw this out for as long as he could. He didn't know what the aftermath was going to look like, and even if it meant that worst case of blue balls in the history of fucking, he just wanted to keep making her look at him like she was right now. He took advantage of her temporary languid state to pull her leg up higher, wrapping it around his waist, opening her up further for him. He'd had the briefest illusion of being in control until her hand on the back of his neck drew his attention back to her face.

"More." Ace demanded, pulling him down to her, and he went willingly, knowing he was completely and utterly fucked.

**No Other Man Alive**

He'd held out for as long as he could, but when Ace had asked him to fuck her harder he'd been lost, burying his face in her hair when he came. The sheets were a tangled, sweaty mess, but he couldn't be bothered to sort it out, just collapsed on her, still breathing hard.

"Sorry." He groaned into the mess of hair covering his face. He felt the waves of her laughter underneath him, and gathered the last dregs of strength he had to roll them so he was on his back and she was against his side.

"Just because I'm curious, what are you apologizing for?" She asked, rolling her head back on his shoulder so she could see his face.

"You sounded like you were ready to keep going." He said, gathering her hair up and starting to work through the tangles. She snorted and trailed a finger down the center of his abs, making the sensitive skin on his pelvis twitch.

"You did me just fine, big man." She told him, yawning.

"Yeah?" He asked, giant smile on his face.

"Cocky fucking bastard." She laughed, and patted around blindly until she came up with a blanket, tucking it over her shoulder and closing her eyes.

"Hey." He waited until she opened them again. "Are you good with this?" He asked her seriously, not wanting to delay the storm if it was coming.

"S'far so good." She mumbled, already dozing off.

Happy watched her sleep for a long time, returning to his earlier train of thought. It made him want to tear something apart to consider giving her an opening to leave, but he couldn't make himself keep bullying her into going his way, either. Checking to make sure she was out, he rolled her gently onto her back and drew the blanket down to study the ink spanning her stomach. He'd never had to cover one of his own pieces before, and he hated considering it now. Admittedly, it wouldn't be a difficult prospect, since he'd done the original in smoky grey, but anything he put over that would still look like a cover. Not quite touching her, he sketched design ideas in the air, trying to picture what would blend the best with her current ink, and also take into account that she was still under her normal weight.

"Hey!" Tig's voice came from the other side of the door as he pounded on it. Happy pulled the blanket back over Ace and dug through the covers until he came up with his boxers, pulling them on as he tried to get to the door before Tig woke her up.

"Shut the fuck up." He growled, opening the door a few inches. Tig arched a brow and deliberately leaned to his left to peer around Happy.

"Is she passed out or did you finally get tired of her?" Tig asked, smirking, because if he hadn't already known exactly what they'd been up to, the bite mark on the Killah's shoulder would have clued him in.

"Why are you at my old lady's door, Tig?" Happy asked, stepping out in the hall and pulling the door closed behind him, cutting off any glimpse of Ace.

"I wanted to watch her choke on some meat." Tig shrugged, holding a piece of bacon up. "I made bacon."

"Asshole." Happy commented, and leaned back against the doorjamb. Tig wasn't showing any signs of leaving, so there had to be something more to this little visit, and there wasn't any rushing Tig into talking if he wasn't into it.

"So you guys are fucking." Tig commented, nodding toward the door.

"Is there a fucking point to this?" Happy asked, getting impatient.

"Just wanted to know where shit stood, I'm getting fucking tired of Tacoma." Tig said, like they both didn't know that he was actually asking how Ace was holding up.

"I'll have an answer for you when we finish shit in Fallbrook." Happy told him, not willing to divulge his plan to give her an out to Tig. He thought that Kozik would probably understand, but Tig would only see it as a betrayal.

"You told her that you're moving on that, yet?" Tig asked, but he had a shrewd idea that he wouldn't be crawling out of his old lady's bed if she'd known he was leaving again.

"Nah, I'll talk to her when she gets up. Are the Charming boys set?" Happy asked, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, you're gonna have more bodies than you could throw at these bangers." Tig grinned. "It's gonna fucking rain bullets on these douchebags."

"Who's coming down with us?" Happy asked, even though he was itching to get back in bed with Ace and enjoy whatever time he had left before he had to tell her that he was leaving her here while he finished doling out some retribution.

"Koz and Lorca, probably Bowie, too." Tig told him, already starting to back down the hallway. He knew that Happy's patience wouldn't hold out much longer. "Quit fucking around and tell her, she'll take it better straight."

**No Other Man Alive**

"It's yours." Ace was shoving the phone at him across the bed, trying to hide her head under a pillow. Disoriented from being woken when he didn't remember falling asleep, Happy stared at it until it stopped ringing.

"Shit." He commented, and dragged himself into a sitting position. Clock read a few minutes after noon, and he was shocked as hell that Ace was still asleep. Of course, he'd done his humble best to wear her ass out this morning, so maybe he shouldn't be surprised. Grinning, he reached behind him to palm one of her asscheeks while he flipped the phone open with his other hand. Juice. He rang him back, and wasn't surprised when Juice picked up on the first ring.

"Hey brother, what's happening?" He pitched his voice low, not wanting to disturb his old lady before he had to, because once she was awake he'd have to let her in on his plan. He listened to Juice's rambling about Redwood's prep for the Fallbrook invasion, entertaining himself by brushing her hair off of her back so he could see her ink. He wondered if Juice was likewise occupied with his own old lady or their baby.

"Where are we at with Rivera and that useless fucking cunt he's running with?" Happy broke in, and tapped his forefinger on Ace's nose when she surfaced from under the pillow, squinting up at him.

"Yeah?" He asked, refocusing on what Juice was saying. "You're sure you got a bead on him and he's not going anywhere?" Ace was fully awake now, and sitting up, watching him. He thought she looked a little nervous, so he rubbed her knee reassuringly and leaned over to kiss her temple. "Good work, Juice. What about the gash?" He was only half listening to Juice, though, because Ace had gone a sick shade of pale.

"Uh, Hap?" She was biting her lip, and he rubbed his thumb over her lip to get her to let it go.

"Seattle? But nothing since then?" He was still trying to follow what Juice was telling him, but getting increasingly worried about Ace, her eyes were huge and she looked ready to either bolt or barf.

"Hap." She said, a little more forcefully, and he was torn because he really wanted to hear the rest of what Juice was telling him about how the blond cunt had vanished a week or so ago, cold trail. "Hap, hang up the phone."

Shooting her a weird look he broke in on Juice's lecture about all the ways someone could hide in a city the size of Seattle. "Hey man, let me call you back." He shut the phone and turned to Ace, who was tucking the sheet around her. "What's the problem, crazy Ace?"

"You're not going to find her." Ace mumbled and he cocked his head and stared at her, trying to figure out her angle.

"What do ya mean?" He leaned over, trying to put himself in her line of sight, since she was avoiding his eyes. He wasn't sure why, but he was getting a really bad feeling about this.

"You're not going to find her." Ace repeated, and boldly met his stare. "She's already dead."

"How?" He barked at her, not able to force words to come out of his mouth that made any more sense than that.

"Uh, a gunshot wound to the head?" Ace offered, starting to scoot backwards, away from him, which had his nerves on high alert.

"You're gonna tell me right the fuck now how you know that." His voice was low and eerily calm, and he grabbed her wrist in his hand to prevent her from retreating any farther. He could feel her pulse hammering against his thumb, but she squared her shoulders and kept her eyes on his.

"Because _I_ killed her, Hap." She told him calmly. He stared at her uncomprehendingly, literally not understanding the words that had just come out of her mouth. He blinked twice and let go of her wrist.

"What?" He asked, because he was sure that he hadn't hear d her.

"I killed her, Happy. While you were off in Fallbrook doing whatever." She waved her hand at him, indicating the whatever and that there was a lot they hadn't talked about, yet. His mouth moved, but no actual words came out. He took a really deep breath and blew it out his nose, his jaw clenched hard.

"I know you didn't do that shit yourself." He was trying to keep his voice ever, sure that if he raised it even an iota, he'd be screaming at her in no time and sure as shit, she'd shut down.

"Doesn't matter." Ace tried to shake his question off, but he caught her face in one hand, forcing her to look at him. He started to back off when he saw the fear in her eyes, but before he could react it was replaced with fury. "Get your fucking hand off of me."

He let go of her carefully, and got off of the bed, figuring that distance was a good plan. He grabbed his jeans off of the floor and pulled them on, putting himself between her and the door.

"Running again?" She spat cynically, getting off of the bed, too.

"No, but fuck if I'm going to let you out of this room before you tell me exactly what the fuck happened." He told her and put his back to her door, crossing his arms.

"You're being an asshole." She pointed out, sitting back down, visibly trying to calm herself.

"Yeah, well you're not exactly being cooperative yourself." He grunted. "Would you fucking talk?"

"It was my idea." She told him, still trying to avoid telling him the rest of it.

"How'd you find her? Juice only just figured out where she was." Happy asked, trying to at least lay off of her, even though the rage was racing through his veins like fire. He wasn't really pissed at her, but he had a pretty good idea of who had helped her on this little adventure and the shit had been rising between him and Tig since he'd been back and if he was right, he was prepared to deliver a beating Tig wouldn't forget.

"Uh, Tig figured it out, I don't really know the details." Ace winced, knowing that this was headed into rocky territory.

"Tig doesn't have a bitch seat." Happy pointed out, unconsciously beginning to loosen up his shoulders and flex his hands. He only noticed when Ace started to look even more worried.

"Kozik went, too." She blurted. "He really, really didn't want to, though, and Tig only took me because I told him if he didn't I'd go alone." She was backpedalling, trying to cover for them, which only served to piss him off more.

"And if you'd gotten caught?" He yelled, not meaning to, but his temper had slipped its leash. "Jesus fucking Christ, do you ever think shit through, Ace?"

"You weren't here; you really don't get to have an opinion." Her voice was quiet, but not cowed, and he had to admit that he respected her for that, at least.

"Did it help?" He finally asked.

"Yeah." She admitted, relaxing now that she thought his anger was spent. It wasn't though, if anything it was worse as he considered all the million ways that shit could have gotten fucked. He stomped his boots on and pulled his wedding band off, dropping it into Ace's hand. "Hap, what are you doing?" She asked, grabbing hold of his hand, but he shook her off. "What are you going to do, Hap?"

"If you have any shred of respect for me, you'll stay put and let me handle this the way I have to." He told her seriously.

"No, please don't. This is my fault, be mad at me." She begged him, and he crushed his mouth to hers to cut off the protest.

"Tig knew what he was doing, don't defend him." He growled. "Or I might start to get the wrong idea. You ain't that worried about my well-being, are ya?"

"Because I know you're the better fighter." She pointed out. "Happy, he helped me."

"Doesn't matter, he put you in fucking danger, and that's not acceptable. Stay your ass right there." He warned for the last time and stomped out the door, slamming it hard enough that it bounced back open a few inches.

It was enough to hear the shouting and smashing, and Ace winced each time a piece of furniture scraped across the floor and every time either of them grunted. When minutes passed and there didn't seem to be any reprieve, Ace gathered her sheet around her and pushed the door closed, muffling the sound. She could still hear them, though, so gritting her teeth, she barricaded herself in the bathroom, turning the water on full blast and stepping under, literally trying to drown out the battle that was certainly still raging out in the clubhouse.

It could have been minutes or hours when Happy finally climbed into the shower behind her. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her shoulder. She knew that that was as close to an apology as she was going to get for what he obviously felt he had no choice about.

"I can't stomach the idea of anything else happening to you." He told her quietly and she nodded wordlessly. She took each of his hands in hers, rinsing them in the water and studying each one, first the left and then the scarred and bloody right. She used her thumbs to feel along the bones of his hand, testing for weak or sore spots. "My hand is fine."

"Good." She said, and let him pull her back against him. He rubbed his thumbs across her hipbones, and dragged his nose from her shoulder up to her ear.

"You pissed at me?" He asked carefully.

"Are you?" She smirked, and turned her face up to him, and tried not to let the horror she felt at the sight of his face show on hers.

"Nah." He told her, and after a moment realized that it was the truth. "I'm proud of you for handling it, but don't you fucking do that again."

It was so typical of him to wrap up a compliment with a threat that for the first time in months, shit felt completely normal between them. He turned her, backing her against the shower wall. He ran his hands up her arms, and instead of pinning them to wall like she clearly expected, he laced his fingers through hers, holding their joined hands in place over her head. He ducked his head to kiss her and she met his lips, careful of the bruising on his face.

"Are you ok?" She asked, pulling a hand free to tentatively touch his face.

"I'm fine. Had a lot to answer for." He grinned, and she could see the blood on his teeth. His face sobered, then, and he dropped her other hand. He splashed water on his face and rinsed the blood from his mouth. "I gotta leave soon."

"For what?" Ace asked sharply, crossing her arms across her stomach.

"I gotta finish the job in Fallbrook, and I'm chasing down Rivera next." Happy told her, backing her under the water. He poured that girly shampoo shit she used into his hand and worked it through her dark hair. She was staring up at him, a little dumbfounded, both by his tenderness and the sudden confession.

"Do you think you're leaving me here?" She asked, leaning her head back so he could rinse her hair.

"Well you're not going to Fallbrook." He told her and she arched a brow at him. "I'm not being an asshole. It's not safe, and I'll be distracted as fuck worrying about you."

"Where is Rivera? That's what Juice was calling about, wasn't it?" She was allowing Happy to move her out of the water. He set to work washing her, pouring body wash directly into his hand and running the subs over her skin meticulously.

"Juice thinks he's hiding out in Miami. We've got a charter there, Juice is gonna get in touch with their IO, Viva, to try and really nail him down." Happy told her, and finished his soaping job by making real sure her tits were clean, which had the added bonus of making her laugh.

"So am I banned from that, too?" She asked, and the laughter was gone from her voice.

"No. Whether you come or not is really up to you. You ain't exactly been forthcoming with where you're at." He pointed out. "What the fuck are we doing?"

"I want to say that I'm all in, big man, I really do." She hedged, and swiped at her face.

"But?" He prompted, holding her face between his hands, preventing her from looking away.

"I don't know if I trust you." She said, flinching from her own words.

"So let me prove it." He persuaded. "Come on, Ace, you've been trusting me practically your entire life. Weigh that against a few months of idiocy, and I still come out on top, don't I?"

"When are you leaving?" She sighed, pushing his hands off of her face in a bid for a little space.

"Day after tomorrow."

"And how long are you going to be gone?" She was holding him off with a hand on his abs, and for all his thoughts about giving her an out; he could practically taste her surrender, unconsciously leaning into her.

"Five days, tops. Gonna meet up in Charming and roll from there, same thing on the way back." He told her, spinning a lock of her hair around his finger, tugging on it lightly. "How long are you going to keep your hair dark like this?" He asked, distracted again by the contrast.

"I hadn't really thought about it, why?" She unwound the hair from his hand, pushing it back over her shoulders.

"I don't like it." He frowned. "I mean, it looks fine, just reminds me too much of when you were younger. And not mine."

"Can you give me a few days to sort through some stuff?" She asked him, returning to the earlier topic.

"How long do you really need, Ace?" He asked, a little harshly. "I know you. You're not going to let me fuck you all morning and then pretend that shit doesn't mean anything to you."

"I never said that, Happy." Ace pushed past him and was out of the shower before he knew what was happening.

"Jesus Christ, you're driving me fucking crazy." He called after her, then turned the water off and followed. She was already half dressed, digging in her bag for a shirt. "Why are you dressed?" He asked, a little disconcerted since his plans hadn't included any clothing.

"I still have to go to work." Ace pointed out, dragging one of the halter tops on. He knew she would have to put something over it, but he liked the unobstructed view of her ink for as long as it lasted.

"Let me take you?" He asked, pulling on his jeans to head down the hall.

"Sure, big man." She acquiesced, and headed to the bathroom to finish getting herself together, as he left to get clean clothes.

**No Other Man Alive**

The best part of taking Ace to work was that he got to pick her up, too. He liked riding with her when she was tired; she leaned all her weight against his back and trusted him to keep her safe. She was definitely tired tonight. When he'd gone into Evil Ink to get her, she'd been curled up in her own chair, a drawing half finished and abandoned in her lap. He'd been surprised to find that she'd taken her hoodie off and put her hair up.

"Hey." She smiled, and rubbed her eyes, smudging her eye makeup a little. It made her look like she was fresh out of his bed.

"Sorry if I'm being an asshole." He grunted. "I really fucking hate this shit between us, and it makes me twitchy as fuck not having it handled when I know I'm going away."

"Ok." She shrugged and slid off the chair, stretching hard enough to give herself a head rush. He steadied her and sat her back down, piling her stuff into her bag for her.

"Come on, let's get you to bed." He laughed a little at her yawning hugely like a child.

"Don't laugh at me, I'm tired." She protested, waving to Eddie as Happy towed her out the door.

She'd settled in against him just like he'd hoped, and she hadn't protested when he'd taken them for a ride before heading back to the clubhouse. He'd forced himself to let her go to her own room when they got back, not wanting to pressure her, especially since she was obviously exhausted.

It was twenty minutes or so later, Happy was laying on the bed, drink in hand when he heard her voice. His temper flared when he realized she was checking on Tig. He didn't have time to get off the bed, though, before she slid into his room, closing the door behind her. She dropped her duffle bag on his dresser, along with an armful of her shower shit. He sat up fast, heart thudding in his chest.

"There's a lot of shit we need to figure out." She warned coming around to the side of the bed, sliding her jeans down and kicking them off. "But I'm sure about you. Is that enough for now?"

"Yeah." He choked out, afraid to touch her and potentially send her fleeing. "Yeah, that's enough."

Moving carefully because he wasn't looking away from her, Happy set his glass down on the night stand, not noticing that he spilled whiskey on the drawing he'd spent hours working on. He trailed a finger down her wrist to her ring finger.

"If I ask now are you going to shoot me down again?" He rasped, and watched her shake her head slowly. He leaned over the side of the bed and snagged her jeans off the floor, hunting through her pockets until he pulled the ring out. She stayed perfectly still in the darkness, watching him. "Come here." He ordered, pulling her onto the bed, and rolling her underneath him. He grabbed her wrist and dropped the ring into her hand, closing her fist around it. He kissed her, not mindful at all of his split lip. "Put it on, Ace." He breathed against her mouth, and without breaking eye contact she did. It was a powerful rush when she laced her fingers through his and he could feel the band between his fingers. He shut his eyes against the sensation and brought his mouth down to hers again, because he didn't have any words to give her.

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	38. Chapter 38

**Disclaimer-I would gold medal in owning the Sons of Anarchy, but Kurt got there first. Fucker. Everything else is mine.**

It was tangible evidence of Ace's place in his life that every time she was in his bed, he woke up even closer to her than he had been when he'd fallen asleep. Ace was facedown, her arms stretched out over her head, and Happy was half on top of her, one leg between hers, and an arm thrown across her so that his hand wrapped loosely around her wrist. Cracking open an eye he traced the line of their arms until he got to her left hand, ring in place. He liked having one more claim on her, especially one that any man would recognize, even if the ink on her didn't mean anything to them. He wondered how many more markers she'd allow him to put on her before she got fed up with his possessive tendencies.

Happy released her arm, running his hand up to her shoulder and then down her side to her hip, just barely propped off of the bed, since her left knee was bent the slightest bit underneath her. He wanted to let her sleep, but also knew that that was an unrealistic expectation since she was naked and he was already hard. The skin on the back of her neck was practically begging for his attention, so he shifted far enough to lick up from her shoulder to the back of her neck. She was starting to stir beneath him, so he abandoned his grip on her hip and gathered her hair over her head, tangling his hand in it. From his vantage point he saw her cheek rise when she smiled and he sucked on the skin behind her ear, which made her bite her lip.

"Mmm, don't start, Hap." She whined, trying halfheartedly to pull away. "I'm fucking starving."

"Oh, me too." He assured her, laughing as he crawled down her body. He pulled her hips up and back so that she was spread wide, half kneeling, with her chest still laid flat. His mouth was practically watering as he admired the pretty picture she made, still flushed and limp from sleep. She was getting ready to protest, though, so he didn't waste any time putting his mouth all over her pussy. He set a hard pace for her, and he groaned when he slid his tongue inside her and found her dripping wet.

"Don't you dare cum, yet." He growled against her, then went back to working her clit, feeling her legs trembling as she tried to obey him.

"Hap….." Ace moaned, pushing up on her elbows. He sat back up and pushed two, then three fingers inside her, watching the metal of his wedding band disappearing into her.

"Shiiiiit." He drawled, and looked up to find her staring him down over her shoulder.

"You'd better either fuck me or let me finish myself off." She warned, pushing herself onto his hand even further. She started to reach down to make good on her promise, but he pulled his fingers out of her pussy and caught her wrist.

"As much as I love watching you fuck yourself, I think I can handle this." He promised, pushing her knees further apart and pulling her back onto his cock. She moaned, and Happy barely caught himself before he pushed her shoulders down hard to the mattress. It sent a flash of panic through him to know how fast he could have ruined this for her. Changing tacks, he drew her up, banding an arm around her to support her weight. She arched her back hard, laying her temple against his cheek and wrapping an arm back around his neck. It was such an unexpected angle that he couldn't help cursing. She further rocked him by taking hold of his hand and sliding it down her body to where they were joined. It was heady feeling her from the inside out, and he let her move his hand against her, concentrating hard on not coming first and knowing that the second she did, he wouldn't be able to hold out any further.

"Talk to me." She begged, and nipped his jaw.

"Yeah?" He asked and she whimpered. "You like that dick, filthy girl?" He could feel her trying to hold out on cumming for as long as possible, and he pulled both their hands away from her pussy, and she cried out in frustration. "I asked you a fucking question, Ace. Tell me how much you want to cum on my cock, baby."

"Oh God, please, Hap." She gasped, trying to force his hand back to her pussy, but he resisted easily.

"Tell me." He demanded and caught her mouth with his. When she broke away, her eyes were hot and locked on his.

"I fucking love it." She panted, direct and honest, no demure little bitch playing games. He loved her for that, and couldn't have been more grateful that she still had it in her.

"Fuck." He groaned and let her use his hand to get herself off, cumming hard inside her when her pussy clamped down on his cock.

When they'd both resurfaced from the aftermath of their respective orgasms, Happy brought them both back down to the bed, turning Ace so that they were facing each other, her head tucked underneath his chin. It struck him again that while he hadn't ever liked much physical contact with women if they weren't fucking, he was wholly addicted to having his hands on his woman, in bed or out. Some part of him had always thought that men who let a woman become the center of their attention were weak willed, but keeping Ace had required every iota of strength and discipline he had, and he was sure he'd still fallen short of the mark, and Ace was just incredibly forgiving of his flaws.

"Come take a shower?" He grunted, still not fully capable of conversation.

"No, you go ahead." She told him, turning her face up to his, a lazy contented smile on it. "I'm going to go find Tig as soon as my legs stop feeling like jelly."

"For what?" Happy asked, rolling away from her and standing.

"Breakfast, then I think I'm going to go hit stuff." Ace yawned, and sat up to watch him going to shower. "Is that alright?"

"Yeah, it's fine." He said, looking surprised that she'd asked. "You need to know how to defend yourself and its better if he teaches you."

"OK. I just didn't know where you were at with him." She shrugged.

"We're fine, crazy Ace." He called over his shoulder.

Certain that she would never understand how beating the piss out of each other made things better for men, Ace scooted to the side of the bed with every intention of seeking out some breakfast. She was distracted by the drawings on Happy's nightstand, though. There were three sheets with different variations on a string of Celtic knotwork, and a second, separate piece, with a tally made up of bloody scythes. They were both beautiful in their own ways, but something about it made her uneasy. When she shuffled though to the bottom page, she realized why; the knotwork was designed as the cover to her belly ink. She covered it with her forearm, trying to sort through how she felt about it. The whole time Happy had been in the wind, the ink had felt like a mockery of everything she'd used to be to him. But he was working hard to make it so that the ink wasn't a lie, so even though it was all tied up with her feelings about being raped, it also served as a testament to the lengths he'd go for her.

"Figured you'd at least be out of bed by now." Happy laughed, coming out of the bathroom. He stopped when she looked back over her shoulder, not liking the look on her face. It felt like one step forward, two steps backward.

"Are these supposed to be a cover for me?" She asked, spreading the drawings out on the bed.

"Yeah." Happy didn't really know what else to say, so he just continued getting dressed.

"Eddie told you, didn't he? That I asked him to draw something?" Ace stretched back out on the bed on her stomach, watching him, chin propped on her hand.

"I caught him at it, scared the piss outta him." He laughed.

"I knew you'd been in the shop." She shook her head. "So what's with the cover, big man?"

"I was tryin to give you some options, crazy Ace, but you jumped the gun on me." He grinned and pulled his cut on over his dark blue Sons shirt.

"I'm sorry?" She offered, not sure what he meant by options.

"Mmm, don't be." He rolled her onto her back and pounced, biting her neck. He let her go and turned serious. "I railroaded you into this and that's kinda shitty. I don't want you staying with me because you think you don't have a choice."

"Hap, I might not have known exactly what I was getting into, but that doesn't change the fact that I was choosing you." She told him earnestly, and brought both her hands up to rub the back of his freshly shaved head.

"I feel like I'm wasting your life." He confessed, sealing it with a kiss, still wanting her even though he'd just been inside her.

"How so?" She asked against his cut lip.

"You're fucking genius with ink, you know that. Way better than I'll ever be. It's not really fair for me to take that away from you." He was tracing the artwork on her side in emphasis, and got distracted thinking about all the ways he could add to it.

"It's fine. You said you wouldn't be out on the road forever, so there will be time later if I want to pursue it harder." Ace was nonplussed at delaying her own ambitions; she knew all too well that his time on the road had likely been shortened by his hand injury.

"We don't have to stick it out with Quinn, we could settle into a charter if you really want." He offered. "You could keep working."

"I won't stay here, Happy." She told him seriously, and he was surprised by her sudden vehemence.

"Hey, what's going on? I thought you liked it here." He asked her, suspicious. It was definitely news to him that she wasn't interested in staying Tacoma. The last time they'd been here, she'd been sad to leave Tacoma behind and in the devastation following her rape, it was the one place she'd asked for, so the sudden insistence on leaving had him concerned.

"I do." She was hedging, and he gave her a look so she knew he was serious about finding out the answer. "It's Cat." She admitted.

"Cat?" Happy repeated, caught off guard, of all the things he'd anticipated, that wasn't one of them. "Has she been at you?"

"Nothing major, just comments here and there. I don't trust her, Happy. I don't understand your relationship with her, but she seems awfully determined to go right through me to get at you." Ace was starting to bristle, so Happy put a finger on her lips.

"Hey, I'm on your side. I respected Cat, but she's way overstepped her bounds lately." Happy soothed her. "What do you need?"

"Just like that?" She questioned skeptically.

"Baby, it's you and the club, everything else is on the table. Lay it on me." He crossed his forearms over her chest, resting his chin on them, all settled in for the negotiation.

"I want you entirely out of this charter." Ace laid it out, figuring that it was better to be straightforward than dancing around the issue. "Cat's so adamant about having you back here, even more than Bowie, and I don't like it and I don't trust it."

"You think there's some ulterior motive?" He found the idea intriguing, turning it over in his mind.

"I don't know, but I don't like the manipulation. As soon as she figured out that I wasn't going to push you toward Tacoma, she started in on you." Ace pointed out.

"So how far out of Tacoma are we talking? I can't not come here if Quinn needs me in the area." Happy told her. "Unless you want to go to a different charter, I guess. Quinn's told me he'd release me anytime."

"No, Nomad, I don't want to go to a different charter." She chuckled. "Maybe in a few years, but not now. You'd break poor Tigger's heart. I just don't see why a Nomad should have a permanent place at a charter. Can't we put your stuff in storage or at your mom's house?"

"I guess. Doesn't matter much to me where my shit is, this was just convenient." It really wasn't that big of a thing to him to move his shit out if it made her feel better. He'd definitely have to sit down with Bowie about it, though, he owed the President an explanation and also a warning about Cat's exploits. It wasn't in Bowie's wheelhouse to come between a Son and their Old Lady; he mostly advocated that strong relationships could only be good for the club.

"Good. And if we have to come through here, I won't stay at the clubhouse." Ace further clarified. "Not until Cat's out."

"OK, we can always find a hotel or whatever." He'd expected a lot more hassle when they'd started this conversation, but so far she wasn't really demanding anything he was too worried about. "Are we good, then?"

"Yeah, big man, we're good." She stretched up and kissed him. "And I won't make you cover your work."

"Thank fuck, I like that one." He told her, and lifted off of her to look down at it. "Like a lot."

"What's with the other drawing? Is that one for you?" Ace asked, pushing him off of her.

"No, I want put that one right here." He traced the curve of her hip, just below the scar that was still raised and pink against her skin. "Not until I find Rivera and gut him like a fucking pig, though."

"I know you don't want me in Fallbrook, and that's fine, I can just drive down to your mom's. But when we go East, I want to be there, Happy, I need to see it."

"I don't know." He was shaking his head, the thought of her in the same room as Carlos Rivera made him see red. "I don't like it."

"I didn't ask you to like it, just to think about it. It's a long ride; I imagine you'll have a minute to consider my point." She smirked at him.

"Smart bitch." He commented, tucking an arm behind his head. "Aren't you supposed to be working with Tig right now?"

"Yea, I'm going. I'll pick up some boxes from work tonight and start packing your stuff." Ace told him, digging through her bag and pulling on clothes. Happy groaned a little when he saw her pull the sports bra on, he loved the way it left her tight stomach and it's ink exposed.

"Don't pack my stuff, that'll drive me batshit crazy trying to figure out your system. I'll get it done tonight." He told her, sitting up to pull on his boots.

"Ok. You coming downstairs with me?" Ace asked, hand on the doorknob.

"Uh uh, I've seen quite enough of you and Tig working together. I'm going to go spend some time with my ride and check in with Quinn." He kissed her, grinning. "Be careful with Tig's face, yeah?"

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	39. Chapter 39

**Disclaimer-still don't own the recognizable characters, just my own. Thanks, y'all.**

Sweating and panting, Ace laid out flat on her back in the middle of the boxing ring. Tig lounged nearby, lying on his side with a towel over his face. He'd been trying to teach her some basic self defense when she'd landed a decent elbow to his eye, already black from Happy's beating. It was a good excuse to call it quits, they were both tired anyway.

"How's your face?" Ace finally asked, not able to conceal her pride at actually landing anything on Tig.

"Still prettier than yours." Tig grunted, and wiped his face with the towel before chucking at her face.

"Gross, Tig." Ace complained, lifting it off of her between her thumb and forefinger, and tossing it aside. "I'm moving Hap's stuff out of the clubhouse."

"Makes sense. There's no reason for a Nomad to be that connected to one charter." Tig mulled the idea around in his head for a while. "What's your motive?"

"Cat." Ace made a face. She sniffed at herself and wrinkled her nose. "I smell terrible."

"I wouldn't start shit with the President's Old Lady." Tig warned.

"I'm not trying to, Tig, but she won't fucking quit." Ace scowled, and threw an elbow across her eyes. "It doesn't matter; I'm taking his stuff down to his mom's, so there's no reason to start anything."

"Hap sending you alone?" Tig asked, with a sharp look at her.

"I haven't the faintest, I only just sprang it on him before I got down here." Ace groaned and rubbed at a bruise on her bicep. "Where's your stuff, Tigger?"

"I still have a studio in Charming. Thought about clearing it out, but it's cheaper than putting shit in storage." Tig answered.

"And that's not too connected to one charter?" Ace snarked, laughing.

"It ain't someone's clubhouse." Tig shot back, then abruptly changed the subject. "You and Killah back to business as usual?"

"Sort of, I guess." Ace shrugged. "I don't trust him not to run again. But I think I'm solid that he'll come back no matter what."

"You're goddamn right about that." Tig grumbled, half to himself. "Killah can't quit you, even if he wanted to, and we both know he doesn't. He's right where he wants to be, greedy bastard."

"I owe you, Tig." Ace remarked quietly.

"What the fuck ever." Tig shot back, uncomfortable with any show of gratitude.

"I mean it, Tigger." Ace rolled onto her stomach and propped her chin on her hands, meeting Tig's eyes levelly. "I don't know where either one of us would be without you."

"Eh, you'd be drunk somewhere and Hap'd be bashing in the wrong heads." Tig shrugged, like it was no big thing. "Eventually, you two knuckleheads would have gotten your shit together. I just didn't feel like waiting around for you."

"Ok, Tig, whatever you say." Ace snorted. "Come on, it's your turn to make lunch."

**No Other Man Alive**

"Let me take you to work." Happy persuaded, lying on the bed, the sheet barely pulled across his hips. He had that cocky ass grin on his face that was the hallmark of a man that was well fed and well fucked. Ace rolled her eyes at him, but couldn't help smiling back before she went into the bathroom.

"You can't take me to work, I'm bringing boxes back with me later." Ace reminded him, and then paused in putting on her makeup and looked around the doorframe at him. "Unless you're planning on hanging out at the shop tonight?" She asked hopefully.

"Can't." Happy was shaking his head, and reached for his cigarettes. "Got dinner here tonight."

Ace made a face and went back to getting herself put together for work. She didn't like the idea of leaving Happy alone in the clubhouse with the Old Lady brigade, but that didn't outweigh her desire to escape from them, herself. "Can't you skip it?" She called, not really expecting that he would.

"Nope. Especially not the night before we ride out. Sorry, baby." His voice was closer than she expected, and she looked up to see him behind her in the mirror. She tamped down on the frisson of panic, a holdover from the motel in Charming, and smiled tightly at him. He knew, of course, exactly what was bothering her and rubbed his palm up and down her back reassuringly. "You alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good, big man." Ace shook off the memory and turned to wrap her arms around his waist. "It just catches me at weird moments, that's all."

"Yeah." Happy held her to him and kissed the top of her head. "You sure you gotta go to work?"

"I have a custom piece tonight, and I have to clear out my stuff. Oh and break the news to Eddie." Ace told him apologetically, looking up at him. "I'd rather lock us both in the room for the night, but that's not gonna happen."

"Yeah, better for you to just go. I don't want you hanging around here, getting stressed out with all this shit." Hap set her away from him, and kissed her again. "Get going before I change my mind."

"Alright." Ace pouted a little, playful. "I'll get back as soon as I can. Be good, big man."

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace slung her bag over her head and locked their door behind her. She kicked Tig's door to let him know she was leaving, and laughed when he cursed her. The smile was still on her face when she sailed past the kitchen on her way out the door.

"There you are!" Ace's eyes widened and she slowed a little when she heard Cat's voice behind her. "Get in here, we need another pair of hands."

Sighing heavily and trying to put a civil expression on her face, Ace turned around to face her. "Sorry, I have to get to work."

"That's not how we do things. I guess you wouldn't know because you're so new to us, but we all pitch in for family dinners, especially when the guys are getting ready for something big." Cat told her condescendingly.

"Sorry, I have to get to work." Ace repeated herself, and took a step backwards.

"Call off. Eddie will understand." Cat demanded, a brittle smile on her face.

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen." Ace shook her head and turned away, returning to her trek to the door.

"Does your old man know that you're skipping this?" Cat called after her. "Club's real important to him."

"Jesus Christ, this bitch doesn't quit." Ace muttered under her breath and turned around again, throwing her hands in the air, exasperated. "Don't you get it? I don't have to play games with Happy like you do, Cat. I will _always _know him better, and I don't have to manipulate him, because if I ask him for something, he gives it to me. I don't know what you think you're going to accomplish, but for your own sake, just back the fuck off of my old man."

This time, Ace spun on her heel and didn't look back or stop, even when Cat called after her again. Cat's voice rose again, indignant at being ignored, but Ace just flipped her off and hit the door without skipping a beat.

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy had been planning to get in the shower, but when he'd heard Ace laughing after she'd evidently kicked Tig's door he'd dressed quickly, figuring he could at least follow her to work. He'd opened the door just in time to catch the tail end of Ace's tirade and then Cat yelling after her. The clubhouse was dead quiet in the aftermath, and he scrubbed his jaw and changed his plan for the afternoon again. Kicking the door shut again he pulled out his phone and dialed Bowie.

"Hey Boss." He said when Bowie answered. "You and I need to sit down, sooner the better."

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy didn't miss the attention he got from Cat when Bowie led the way to the Chapel. He narrowed his eyes and shook his head at her, wanting to send the message that she should be nervous about this sit down.

"So what can I do for you, Hap? Bowie asked jovially. He obviously had his own idea of where this was heading, and he couldn't possibly be further from the truth.

"I needed to clear the air regarding my intentions." Happy said, formally. He sat forward in his chair, crossed hands on the table.

"Are you going to get your release from Quinn? Come back to us, finally?" Bowie grinned, but the smile faded from his face when Happy shook his head.

"No. Quite the opposite, Bowie." Happy told him firmly. "I already talked to Quinn, once Fallbrook is done, we're going East."

"Tracking Rivera?" Bowie questioned, disappointment clear in his voice. "You can still come back here, I'll give you the time to take care of your business, son, you know that."

"No, I can't, Bowie. I'm moving my stuff outta your clubhouse. I won't be coming back to Tacoma, I'm sorry." Happy did feel badly, he loved Tacoma and Bowie had brought him up in the club. His new, split loyalties were hard to get used to, but his gut told him that this was the right choice. "I don't like to get involved in your personal shit, Bowie, but your old lady has been causing all kinds of shit for me."

"Cat? This has to do with Cat?" Bowie pressed, off balance with the unexpected direction the conversation was taking.

"I don't know what she's playing at, man, but her mouth just cost you any chance of me coming back. She's been riding Ace and trying to manipulate me, and after all the shit my old lady's been through because of me, I'm not giving her another reason to distrust this club."

"Let me talk to Cat, I can set her straight." Bowie tried to bargain.

"Too late. I already told Ace we wouldn't come back. She deserves better." Happy pushed back from the table. "I hope you can understand where I'm coming from, but I wanted to give you the news before you risked your charter tomorrow."

"Don't even sweat that, brother. We're committed to clearing out that vipers nest no matter what happens. I'll be sorry to see you go, Happy." Bowie shook Hap's hand firmly, and stayed seated at the gavel while Happy left the Chapel.

Happy was closing the Chapel door behind him when his phone rang. "Yo."

"What's happening, Killah?" Nova greeted him cheerfully.

"Nova." Happy said, resigned, wondering if this was part of Quinn's payback for his disappearing act. "You and Bulldog are closest?"

"Yep. So the little lady needs a bodyguard, huh?" Nova was clearly amused.

"Yeah, she's moving my stuff down from Tacoma to my ma's, and I gotta be in Fallbrook." Happy explained, even though he was sure Quinn had already covered it.

"You mean I get Ace _and _Delia?" Nova laughed, the prankster loved pushing buttons.

"Don't be an asshole, Nova." Happy growled. "I don't fucking like leaving her in anyone else's care."

"Alright, Killah, chill out. I'll keep her safe, I promise." Nova got serious, knowing that Happy was still too raw to fuck with when it came to Ace. "Me 'n Bulldog are up in Canada, we can make it there before noon tomorrow, that work for you?"

"Yeah. We'll already be on the road to Charming, but that's fine. Just get her there safe, Nova." Happy said and lit a smoke. He hadn't expected to feel this twitchy over putting Ace in someone else's care.

"Relax, Hap. I won't let anything happen to your girl." Nova promised, then hung up.

**No Other Man Alive**

It was nowhere near the normal end of her shift, but Ace had finished her custom appointment and didn't have anything else scheduled, so she gave into the impulse to return to Happy. She packed up her kit and books, pulling down the drawings she had hung on the walls. In no time at all, the workspace was stripped back down to basics.

"Aw, shit, Happy's stealing you away, isn't he?" Eddie came into her space and looked around ruefully.

"Sorry, Eddie, I was just coming to tell you." Ace apologized, feeling terrible for leaving him an artist short.

"You're fine, Ace. Honestly, I didn't think you'd last past the first night he came back in town." Eddie smiled, and reached across the space to shake her hand. He knew that she wasn't into close physical proximity, and he respected that, both for her own sake and for her old man's.

"Thanks for understanding. And for giving me this job, it was exactly what I needed." Ace felt herself get a little choked up, and cleared her throat loudly.

"My pleasure, Ace." Eddie picked up her bag from the desk and held it out for her. "Get outta here, kid."

**No Other Man Alive**

Tacoma's club dinners were an important part of why this charter worked so well. With no hangarounds or sweetbutts to interfere, the Sons and their families used this time to really come together and bond as a whole. It was perfect timing to remind everyone why risks like the one they were taking tomorrow were worth it.

Happy had found a spot off in a corner where he could watch the door. It would probably be a few hours before Ace could cut out of work, but the second she came through that door, he was done with the social call. As it was, he'd managed to keep himself out of the thick of things. He liked watching Tacoma's family men in action, it gave him hope that he'd figure out how to manage both sides of himself, too.

"Hi Happy, where's Ace?" Colton jumped up on the couch next to him, grinning. Happy held out his fist for a knuckle tap, smiling back at the kid.

"Still at work, my man." Happy shook his head sorrowfully at Colton. "Left me here all by myself to wait for her, can you believe that?"

"Yeah." Colton shrugged, and sat forward, elbows on his knees, mirroring Happy. "Women."

It took every ounce of restraint Happy had not to laugh out loud at Colton's solemn expression. He didn't want kids himself, but this one was about as cool as they came.

"Did Ace come hang out with you a lot while I was gone?" Happy asked, figuring he'd probably get straighter answers from the kid than he'd ever get from Kozik or Tig.

"No, not really. Mom said she could only stand Tig and Kozik, and that that didn't make any sense to her at all, since she can't stand either one of them." Colton explained, and this time Happy did laugh, but sobered at Colton's next words. "She was really sad."

"Yeah, I know she was." Happy nodded, regretting the decision to ask Colton about Ace in his absence.

"Mom told Dad that it would serve you right if Ace found a way around Kozik and left your sorry ass, but I knew Ace wouldn't do that." Colton confided, very matter of fact.

"Yeah, let's not repeat stuff your mom says to your dad, alright small dude?" Happy scratched the back of his head and was relieved that Ace was on the same page as he was with having kids. He studied the little blonde hellion, trying to picture what it would be like having one with his dark hair and Ace's incredible eyes. Then it occurred to him that they could have a girl and he shuddered at the thought of raising a daughter in the club.

"Ace is here!" Colton darted off across the clubhouse to where Ace was pushing through the door. The nervous Prospect was right behind her, arms full of broken down boxes. She was searching the crowd for him, but was interrupted by Colton launching himself at her, hugging her legs tightly. Happy watched her face soften and she squatted down to hug him back. Colton, in turn, shot Happy a smug look over her shoulder and Happy laughed and got up from his seat.

Ace had already traced Colton's path back to him and she smiled hugely when she saw him approaching. She said something to the Prospect and he headed toward the dorms. Pulling Colton along by the hand, Ace met Happy halfway.

"Hey there, big man." She smiled and slid her free hand under the back of his shirt. Happy pulled her closer and tipped her chin up so he could kiss her. She looked a little surprised, so he kissed her again.

"Hey. Eddie cut you loose early?" He asked, gathering up her hair and pulling it forward over her shoulder.

"No, I asked to leave early. I didn't want to spend that much time away from you when you're riding out in the morning." She beamed up at him, thrilled with the public affection.

"Does that mean you get to stay here with me?" Colton butted in, tugging on her hand to get her attention.

"Sorry, dude, Ace is leaving tomorrow, too." Happy told him, and ruffled the kid's hair. "Get outta here, I want her all to myself for a while." Colton scowled a little, but obediently took off.

"All to yourself, huh? You're not going to hang out for a while?" Ace asked, trying not to sound hopeful.

"Mmm, no, definitely not." Happy held her away from him and let his gaze drift down her tight body and then back up. He'd expected her to roll her eyes at him, but she just bit her lips and met his stare. That was enough for him, pulling her back into his side, he pushed his way through the crowd. The stack of boxes was leaning against their door and Ace scooped them up while he unlocked the door.

Closing the door behind them, Happy took the boxes from her hands, dropping them on the dresser. Next he pulled the bag from her shoulder and added that to the pile. He licked his lips and laced his fingers through hers, palm to palm and backed her against the door, holding their joined hands over her head. He bent and captured her mouth, feeling her moan more than hearing it.

"You're supposed to be packing." Ace smirked at him when he came up for air. He growled a little, and dropped her hands so he could pick her up. She went willingly, wrapping her legs around his hips and resting her elbows on his shoulders, lightly rubbing the top and back of his head. He pushed her back against the door, grinding into her, pleased that her breath caught, eyes going a little hazy.

"I'm gonna take care of you first, then I'll pack." He promised her, nipping at her neck, just below her ear.

"Oh, well if you insist." Ace breathed, and let go of him to peel off her shirt. He kept her against the door for a moment longer, kissing and licking his way across her tits, hiking her a little higher so he could bite down on one of her nipples through her bra. "Oh fuck."

"Mmm, if _you _insist." He teased, and carried her to the bed, dropping her so she bounced lightly. He stripped out of his cut quickly, turning to place it on the dresser. They were both racing to get naked, caught up in the playful mood, but as soon as he turned back around and got a good look at her stretched out on his bed with just the light from the window falling across her, looking so damn beautiful his heart hurt, he knew he had to do her better than just a really fun fuck.

He went to his knees on the bed, lifting one of her ankles to his mouth, kissing his way leisurely to the sensitive skin at the back of her knee, maintaining eye contact with her the whole time. Sliding forward onto his stomach, Happy cupped her ass in his hands, bringing her pussy closer to his face. He breathed over it, watching the skin on her stomach ripple with goosebumps. At her gasp and tiny whine, he bent his head, licking her from slit to clit. The way she arched and writhed made him even hungrier for her, but he controlled the pace, keeping it slow and steady. Her thighs were trembling, and she was gasping, but he couldn't let her cum, yet. He needed more time to taste her, to savor her, even though he knew that he'd never actually get enough.

"Hap, _please._" Ace begged, her hands kneading her breasts in an attempt to get whatever stimulation she could to put her over the edge. Happy gave in to her, just like he always did, letting her move against his tongue until she came. He pulled away from her when she made a tiny noise of protest at the contact on her over sensitive skin. He rested his chin just above her pelvic bone, watching her face on the comedown. She had a lazy, sexy curve to her lips and her cheeks were flushed. He could have stayed there studying her, memorizing the way she looked, storing it away against the nights he'd spend without her, but she reached her hand out for him, silently beckoning him.

"Good?" He asked, nuzzling her neck on the way to her lips.

"_So _good." Ace hummed against his mouth, then sucked his bottom lip between hers, licking the taste of her orgasm from him. She spread her legs farther, hitching one over his hip, and the instinct to be inside her was too strong to even contemplate resisting.

"Shit." He cursed, because that first moment inside her was always so good that it was borderline painful. They both had their eyes open, their breath shared between them. "I love you." He told her, his big hand cradling her face.

"I love you, too, big man." She whispered back, her eyes going soft and misty. It was exactly the kind of shit that he wouldn't have been able to stand in any other bitch, but for this one he was on fire for it.

They moved together, slow and hot. Happy got her to cum twice more, her last orgasm had him gritting his teeth, she felt so good on his cock. He knew he was wearing her out, instead of moaning, she was only managing little whimpers. He caught her mouth again, kissing her hard enough to bruise her lips. He wanted her to feel him all over tomorrow when he had to leave her. Not wanting this to end, but knowing that he still had a lot of shit to do and hoping that maybe she'd be down for another round when he was done packing, he buried his face in her neck and kicked it into a higher gear. Ace hissed approvingly in his ear and this time when she came, so did he.

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace was curled up on the bed, watching as he methodically packed and labeled boxes. She hadn't bothered to get dressed, which Happy figured was a good sign since he really wanted to get back inside her as soon as he was done, and fuck losing sleep before the twelve hour ride tomorrow.

"You almost done, big man?" Ace asked, rolling onto her stomach.

"Yeah, dresser's emptied out. Just have to finish the closet." He told her, and left it to kiss her before taping up another box. He started pulling down the random little things he had stashed on the shelf. His hand landed on the photo box he kept, bits of his past that he kept around to remind him where he came from. Most of the pictures were from his teenage years, and flipping through them he spotted Ace as a child in the background of more than a few. He came to a few from the days following his release from his first stint in prison. His ma had caught him grinning at the camera, and just barely in the frame, Ace was staring at him, her 12 year old eyes filled to the brim with hero worship. He flipped the picture to her and sat on the floor at the foot of the bed to look through more.

"I don't think I've ever seen this." Ace said. "Oh God, that's embarrassing."

"What's embarrassing?" He asked, looking over his shoulder, where she had scooted to the edge of the bed to look over his shoulder.

"The way I'm staring at you, could I have been any more obvious?" She complained, and he laughed.

"Like that one better?" He asked, holding another picture up for her. This time Happy was the one staring, eyes half lidded; and Ace, probably 16 or 17 was laughing so hard her eyes were streaming with tears.

"You never looked at me like that." She accused, tracing a fingertip across the picture.

"Not when you were looking back." He admitted, and craned his neck back to kiss her. "You weren't anywhere close to legal, that would have been pervy as fuck."

"Yeah, well, I'm very legal now, big man." She cooed, and bit lightly down on his ear. "I'll finish this tomorrow, it'll only be a box or two of chaos, it won't be that bad."

Happy looked at the closet, trying to weigh how disorganized any packing she did would be against getting back into bed with her. There wasn't any contest. He hauled himself off the floor and flipped off the lights, not bothered at all by her peals of laughter.

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy knew before he even opened his eyes that his mood was about two notches below foul. It was way too fucking early to be awake, he was going to have to leave Ace today, and to top that shit off, she wasn't in his bed. He pushed himself up and looked blearily around, but she definitely wasn't in the room either. His heart rate was starting to pick up as he considered all the weird shit that might be going through her head about him taking off.

He grabbed a pair of jeans, pulling them on as he walked to the door, not bothering with any more actual clothes. As soon as he'd opened his door, though, he could hear her. From the sounds of it, she was in the kitchen, fighting with Tig. Scrubbing his face and trying to check his frustration, Happy considered just going back to bed, but ended up trekking down the hall anyway.

"Ow! You fucking dick, Tigger!" She whisper yelled, and he heard Tig laughing maniacally. Seconds later Tig let out a decidedly unmanly shriek and the distinct sound of a dish towel snapping followed.

"You're burning the goddamn bacon!" Tig accused, as Happy came around the corner. He tilted his head to one side, eyes squinted against the light, trying to figure out what in the fuck they were up to.

"_I'm _not burning anything, the bacon was supposed to your job." Ace shot back, aiming a kick at Tig's ankle.

"Well I can't fucking cook the bacon if you won't move your fat ass, sunshine." Tig was griping as he pulled the pan off of the stove. He saw Hap in the doorway then and nodded to him. Ace spun around, dismayed.

"Oh, you're not supposed to be up." She pouted, looking genuinely distressed. "I was going to bring you breakfast."

"Woke up alone." He grunted, grabbing her and pulling her in against him, she was warm from cooking and he nuzzled his face into her hair. "I hate that shit."

"I'm sorry. I wanted to wake you up with breakfast, but apparently not so much." She sighed, and grabbed a plate, shoving it at him. "Get some food anyway. The bacon's a little on the crispy side, Tig burned it."

"I wouldn't have burned the fucking bacon if your batshit crazy ol' lady hadn't been attacking me with a dish towel." Tig complained, a piece of crispy bacon hanging from the corner of his mouth.

Happy didn't say anything, just loaded up the plate with food for him and Ace, and dragged her along into the dimly lit clubhouse behind him. He set the plate down on a table and pulled the chair out, settling Ace sideways on his knee.

"We could've just eaten in the kitchen." She told him amused, and he shoved a piece of the burned bacon into her mouth.

"Nope. Prospects will be in there soon making breakfast for everyone else; don't want you caught up in that." He told her and started in on the eggs, shoveling a bite into her mouth for every two he took. Eventually she stopped opening her mouth for him, sliding down a little to rest her head in the perfect nook between his shoulder and his neck. When he'd finished the plate, he swept her legs over his other knee, too and just held her for a minute while he smoked. The warm weight of her against him was soothing.

"Thanks for breakfast, baby." He finally said, and kissed her forehead.

"Anytime, big man." She grinned up at him and he kissed her again, for good measure. Then he stood them both up, setting her gently on her feet, even though he'd considered carrying her back to the room.

"I gotta pack up my shit for the ride." He explained, and she nodded, the smile fading from her face. She followed him back, and watched for a minute while he packed, but it was making her nervous, so she went to the bathroom to start the shower instead.

She'd been standing under the hot water for a while when he appeared on the other side of the glass. Instead of getting naked and climbing in, though, he just slid the door open and watched for a few seconds.

"I'm going down. Come outside when you're done, I want to talk to you before everyone's milling around." He told her, and grabbed her wrist so he could pull her close enough to kiss again.

"Ok, give me ten and I'll be down." She agreed, shrugging half heartedly. He hated that she was starting to shut down on him, and he halfway wanted to climb in the shower with her and force her to engage with him, but he knew she needed this time alone so that she could put on a brave face when there were eyes on her, so he let her have it.

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy watched her from his Harley, right boot planted, left boot on his right peg. Her eyes were just the slightest bit red from crying, but her head was high and her shoulders back. There were a handful of Sons scattered around the lot, packing up saddlebags or adjusting something or other on their Harleys, so Happy turned his own bike on to lend a modicum of privacy to their conversation.

"C'mere." He told her when she was close enough to hear, and stood up, holding his hand out to her. She came willingly, sliding her hands inside his cut to wrap her arms around his waist. He leaned back against the chainlink fence, bringing her with him, so that she had to lean against him. "We're gonna be gone for a few days, I'll probably hole up somewhere for the day with Tig and ride to Ma's on the third day."

"Ok." She shrugged slightly, and he ran his hands up and down her back.

"Nova and Bulldog are on their way down from Canada right now, they should be here before noon. Nova's gonna ride down to Ma's with you. He's gonna need to sleep for a few hours, but then let him drive the rest of the way. He'll stay with you until I get there, ok?"

"Am I allowed to talk to him this time?" She asked, a mischievous smile on her face, and he rolled his eyes at her, but was also relieved that she was joking with him.

"Phone." He said, putting it in her hand. "You're gonna keep it on and with you the entire time."

"Yes, Daddy." She smirked, and he glared at her.

"Not funny, Ace. Gun." He tucked it into the back of her jeans. "You're carrying every single goddamn second between now and when I come for you. If I find out that it is ever more than 6 inches from you, I'm gonna solder it to your hand, got it?"

"You're such a romantic, big man." Ace grinned cheekily and he gave in and kissed her. "I promise I'll be good and carry at all times."

"Thank you." He told her, and watched her face soften. "I'm not trying to be a dick, but I can't worry about you and handle this at the same time."

"I know. I won't make you worry about me, Happy." She told him, and compulsively tightened her hold on him, ducking her face down against his chest. "Just promise me you'll try to keep yourself whole, too."

"Hey." He grabbed her chin, so that she didn't have any choice but to meet his eyes. Hers were filled with all the fear and anxiety he'd known she was hiding from him. "Ain't nothing gonna happen to me. I even brought my vest, if that makes you feel better."

"Yeah it does. Thanks." She whispered, and he bent to kiss her, very thoroughly.

"I'm not nearly through with you, yet." He growled against her mouth. "So don't worry, I'm coming back for you."

"OK. I love you, big man." She told him, and hugged him hard. He held her for another minute as he watched bikes and cars begin to roll onto the lot.

"I love you, too, crazy Ace." He said and pushed them both upright, ending their private goodbye.

"I'm going to go start bringing my stuff down." Ace told him, holding her hand out for the truck key.

"Sounds good. Get a Prospect to help you with the heavy shit, you're not supposed to be lifting much."

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace sat on the tailgate of the truck, watching Tacoma's men and their Old Ladies milling about, making the final preparations to leave. Cat and Bowie were off to one side, having a tense discussion from the looks of things. Ace felt pretty certain that she knew what they were arguing about, because neither one was being very subtle about their glances in her direction. Tig and Happy were standing together, too, heads bent close and on this, Ace did wonder what was being discussed. Her two Nomads played their cards very close, though, so unless one of them decided to let her in on it, she'd just have to keep wondering. Bowie parted ways with his Old Lady with a perfunctory kiss, and headed for his Harley, which seemed to be a signal to everyone else. Tig and Happy both headed in her direction, and Kozik saluted her with a grin before he mounted up.

Tig stood back while Happy came up to her. They'd already said their real goodbyes earlier, this was just a last, tiny check in. He pulled her forward to the edge of the tailgate and stood between her legs. He traced the curve of her jaw with the back of his hand and then leaned forward and kissed her hard. As quick as that, it was over, and they stared at each other for a long moment, words completely unnecessary. Finally, he took her face between his hands and kissed her forehead, then walked away without a backward glance.

"You alright, dollface?" Tig asked her, hopping up next to her to watch Happy's retreat.

"You'll keep him safe for me, right?" Ace asked quietly, her voice small, but calm.

"He'll be fine. Hap's been through too much shit for you, he's not gonna catch a bullet now and end it. Quit being a pussy and get your chin up." Tig told her, but his voice was gentle. "And for fuck's sake, don't forget to eat."

Tig hopped down, and lifted her down, too. He hugged her with one arm and ruffled her hair. He started across the lot to join Happy and Ace caught his arm. "Watch his back."

"Watch yours. We'll be fine." He shot back, grinning, and shook her off.

The Old Ladies were all loosely bunched together, now, hanging out near the picnic tables, watching their men queue up. Ace felt completely comfortable standing apart from them. This wasn't their charter, and these weren't her people, and wandering over to them wasn't going to change the score. She watched the line of Harleys leave the lot, knowing that Happy wouldn't look back, but hoping anyway. When they were out of sight, and out of earshot, the Old Lady brigade started to break apart, getting in their cars and heading home or to jobs or to volunteer with the PTO for all she knew. The exception was Cat, who had planted herself at the bottom of the stairs, glaring in Ace's direction.

"Seriously?" Ace huffed and waited until the lot had cleared out. She had no intention of engaging with Tacoma's head bitch, but if she lost her cool, it would be best if there wasn't an audience. When the last car pulled out, Ace crossed the lot quickly, stopping in front of Cat, boots planted. As usual, Cat was dressed impeccably, hair and makeup perfect and staggering bitch heels. If she hadn't witnessed the awful, stilted goodbye between Cat and her old man, Ace might have been intimidated by the show that Cat consistently put on. But, all she felt was pity, because even though she'd been beaten at her own game, the queen wasn't retiring gracefully. "Did you want to say something to me?"

"You should be ashamed." Cat told her, crossing her arms, hip popped out to the side.

"Oh? And why is that?" Ace inquired, all icy courtesy.

"You cost this charter a really valuable asset with your little games." Cat scolded her, like she was five year old again and in the principal's office.

"_I _cost Tacoma an _asset?"_ Ace snorted, laughing, and she held up a hand until she got herself under control again, wiping under her eyes. "Oh God, I'm sorry, but that's just rich. First of all, Cat, you screwed yourself on that one, I didn't do anything but give you room to hang yourself. And Happy's not an asset, he's a human being who makes his own decisions. He's so much more than what he can do for the club, but in all the years you've known him, apparently you've never bothered to find that out."

"Do you really think he's going to give up the charter he's been calling home for 15 years for some new piece of pussy?" Cat hissed, her impenetrable façade beginning to crack.

"Do you know what my earliest memory is?" Ace asked. "It was Happy, making me a sandwich for lunch. I was two. Trust me, none of this is about pussy for him, and I didn't ask him to give up Tacoma for good, just for as long as you're here; so if you really think that him being here is best for the club, then you can always leave." Ace glided past her to the stairs and paused, waiting for a response that wasn't going to come. Cat just walked away toward her car and Ace smirked. "Yeah, that's what I thought, bitch."

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (ShamrockJess)**_


	40. Chapter 40

**Disclaimer-I am Jess, which is awesome, but not quite as awesome as being Kurt Sutter (hello, he's married to the gorgeous Katey Sagal!). Anyway, I don't own Sons of Anarchy or any of its recognizable characters, but I'll still mud wrestle someone for possession of Kozik since he's up for grabs.**

Ace was halfway dozing when the sound of two Harleys interrupted her daydreaming. She was stretched out on the tailgate of the truck, soaking up the unusually strong sun, a rarity for Tacoma. Pushing up to sit, Ace watched Nova and Bulldog park and dismount. She had very vague, slightly uneasy memories of both of them being at the hospital, even though she didn't think they'd ever been in the room with her.

"Looking good, Ace!" Nova called appreciatively, and pulled her down by the hand. "Take a twirl, let me look actcha."

Laughing, Ace let him spin her around once before she pulled her hand free.

"Are you allowed to talk to me this time?" Nova asked as Bulldog joined them, nodding a wordless greeting to Ace. They were perfect foils for each other, the insanely good looking Nova and the swarthy, quiet Bulldog.

"Ha! I asked him the same thing!" Ace laughed, leading the way into the clubhouse. "He didn't really answer."

"At least Killah didn't specifically say no." Nova shrugged. "Alright, I need to piss and eat, and I'll be ready to roll."

"Go ahead and use our bathroom, last one on the right." Ace pointed down the hallway. "I'll make some lunch. There's one more box in there, bring it out with you?"

Nova waved his consent and Ace turned back around to find Bulldog close at hand. It momentarily startled her, but she knew that Happy had probably left fairly specific instructions about her protection, even here in the heart of Tacoma's clubhouse. Sighing, she resigned herself to being closely watched until Happy and Tig were done in Fallbrook. Since Bulldog didn't show any inclination to talk, Ace just set about fixing plates of leftovers from the night before, ignoring the scrutiny.

"This is some great shit." Nova remarked, setting the box down on the counter and pulling out the smaller box of old photographs. Ace grabbed it out of his hand and put it back.

"Eat first, we've got like 15 hours in the truck for you to snoop." She told him, pushing a plate at him and another at Bulldog. She set to work on her own, smaller plate of food. It was weird eating without Tig hovering and piling additional food on her plate. With a small smile for the weird, semi combative, semi caretaking, and all dysfunctional relationship she'd developed with Tigger, Ace applied herself to polishing off her food; ready to be on the road to Delia's house.

**No Other Man Alive**

They'd made it through Oregon before Happy had a chance to check his phone. Nova and Ace had both checked it to let him know that they had set out for California, which put him a little at ease. Part of him wished that he could've figured out a way to let her ride with them, but ultimately it was safer for both of them for her to be with Nova. If she was here, he'd be even more distracted, especially when they'd have to split off in different directions. It was bad leaving her behind anywhere, but that would be nothing compared to having to watch her actively drive away from him, even just to go to his Ma's house. Besides, there wasn't a chance in hell he'd be taking her anywhere near Charming if he could avoid it, which factored heavily in his decision to head East and stay there. The chances of the mother charter demanding your presence were greatly diminished when you were 3000 miles away.

"Dollface make it out alright?" Tig asked, lighting a smoke and nodding to the phone in Happy's hand.

"Yeah, they're on their way." He answered, flipping the phone closed and pocketing it. "You still cool with heading East?"

"Sure, no hair offa my balls either way." Tig shrugged.

Happy nodded, and crushed his own cigarette out under his boot. He and Tig would bring up the rear, so there was plenty of time before he had to mount back up. He pulled his phone back out of his pocket and shot off a short text, ignoring Tig's laughter. It wasn't worth the effort to respond, even though he would have if it had been anyone else. He didn't suppose there was any mystery about how much his old lady meant to him after he'd traded himself for her, but he didn't think it made him soft. If anything, the drive to make the club safer for her made him feel colder and harder. Even the decision to relinquish her protection to Nova for the duration was a calculated move to cement one more layer of loyalty for her. Happy wasn't a stupid man, and he wasn't going to make the mistake of not allowing a willing brother to watch her back for him again. If he had his way, within a year he would have Ace so deeply entrenched in the club that she never took a step again without a Son clearing her path first. Truth was, she had halfway managed that with no help from him already.

"Ace wants in on the Rivera retribution." Happy commented as they ambled back to their Harleys. "Where do you land on that?"

"Makes sense. She handled herself with Starla like a fucking champ." Tig grinned, his grin getting even bigger at the glare he caught from his partner. Happy was never going to not underestimate Ace's ability to deal with shit, and Tig felt a nearly religious calling to continue to prove her toughness to him.

"I don't like the idea of her anywhere near him." Happy rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to ward off the headache he could feel creeping in behind his eyes.

"You'll already have him subdued, and I'll keep myself between them, there's less than no risk." Tig pointed out.

"I don't like it." Happy just repeated, mostly to himself as they waited for the phalanx to pass them.

**No Other Man Alive**

It was almost six when Ace decided that she was tired of her stomach trying to eat her spine and found somewhere to stop for food and fuel. Nova was open mouthed snoring in the passenger seat and Ace took a long moment to consider leaving him there and getting herself fed, but she knew that Happy would lose his shit if he found out, and she'd promised not to give him anything to worry about.

"Nova." Ace said gently. "Wake up, it's time to eat." Nova didn't even flinch, and Ace risked jabbing him in the arm with a finger. "Come on, get up."

Realizing that he wasn't going to wake up easily, Ace mentally apologized to the bystanders and laid on the truck's obnoxiously loud horn, only letting up when Nova bolted upright. She did her best to stifle her laughter, but was mostly unsuccessful, based on Nova's glare.

"Sorry!" She gasped, not sounding apologetic in the least.

"What time is it?" Nova asked, sitting up and stretching, then checking their surroundings.

"Just shy of six. I figured we'd eat and fuel up. This beast is terrible on gas." She explained, and tucked her Glock into her waistband and pulled on her leather to keep it concealed.

"Good plan." Nova yawned and opened the truck door. "Stay put for a sec."

Ace waited obediently, and only semi-impatiently as Nova got out and took a lap around the truck stop, even ducking inside before he came back to open her door.

"All clear, captain?" Ace snapped a sarcastic salute before hopping down, and relinquishing the truck keys when he held his hand out.

"Yes, smartass. You didn't actually think I wouldn't take this seriously, did you?" Nova asked, following her into the truck stop. When Ace just shrugged noncommittally, Nova stopped her with a hand on her shoulder and cocked his head, perplexed. "I think you might be the only living human with a defunct fear response to your boy. It's not healthy."

"It seems to be working out alright, though, doesn't it?" Ace smiled smugly and brushed Nova's hand off her shoulder. He just shook his head and slid into the diner booth after her.

"You're a strange and fascinating woman, Ace Perez." He told her and looked at her appraisingly. "Also, you kinda scare the shit out of me."

**No Other Man Alive**

Tig followed him without question when Happy peeled off of the column before reaching Teller-Morrow's lot. It was only a few minutes to the motel that Happy and Ace had called home while they had been in Charming. The area in front of their door was no longer cordoned off, and Happy was sure there was fresh carpet. He considered asking the desk clerk for the key and going in, but decided that it was best if he didn't actually go in.

"You tight, brother?" Tig questioned, standing just behind him at Happy's right hand.

"Yeah. I'm good, bro." Happy answered without making a move to leave. He continued to stare at the door, but in his head he was watching Tig put Ace through the progression of that night and inserting it into the physical space in front of him. It was all too real to him, and he could feel the rage at his helplessness start to burn in his gut. It was the perfect reminder what he was there for and why he'd put Ace in Nova's care. He was going to wipe the planet clean of the entire organization that had dared to presume they were bad enough to withstand retaliation for going after Ace.

She was so much herself still that Happy could consciously put aside what had been done to her most of the time. There were odd moments when she looked so far away, or when some little detail sparked a memory and she flinched or turned unexpectedly melancholy, but she was so strong and self contained, even now. They'd wanted to break her, to send her back to him a broken shell, so he could face his failings every day; and even though he did occasionally watch her while she was asleep, silently listing the ways he'd fallen short, more often he was in awe of how utterly undefeated she was.

"You really think she should be there?" He finally asked, and Tig shifted beside him.

"Yeah, I do." Tig answered, his voice serious and contemplative. "You gotta see it from her side, man. She's been letting you handle this retaliation with almost no interference and no questions. She knows that the only reason she got away with the Starla bit was because we went behind your back. This may have been about you, Hap, but it happened to her. She's not asking to get bloody this time, I don't think, just to see it end."

"Yeah." Happy agreed. "I can see that."

"Come on, Killah, let's get to T-M before Jax sends out a search party." Tig said, pulling the stone cold assassin away from his contemplation of the door behind which he'd almost lost his wife.

**No Other Man Alive**

They were fed and fueled and back on the road well before seven, with Nova singing very loudly and very much off key to some bubble gum country pop song. He had one hand on the wheel and the other one was rummaging through the photo box he'd plopped on the seat between them. He'd pull a picture out, look at it, usually laugh, and then hand it to Ace for explanation. Some of them she knew about, others were new to her.

"Holy shit, Killah knows how to hold a baby?" Nova crowed, studying the faded Polaroid. "And look at that fucking hair!"

Ace leaned over and plucked it out of his hand, looking at it carefully. She smiled, a soft, sweet smile and even Nova could feel the bone deep commitment she had to Happy. He'd never doubted it, having seen them in the days following her rape, but this was a different, more private glimpse into their history that he felt privileged to see.

"That's me." Ace said, tapping a finger lightly on the picture.

"No shit?" Nova asked, and grabbed the picture back. "I knew you'd known him for a while, but that shit really puts it into perspective. So it was like, from birth then?"

"Not quite, but close." Ace said, that small, secret smile still in place. "My parents moved in next door to Delia on my first birthday, so it'll be 29 years tomorrow."

"Awww, you got a birthday tomorrow and no one told me?" Nova cried, genuinely put out by the notion. "We gotta go out and celebrate!"

"Uh, I don't think that Happy would be too thrilled with that plan, Bakersfield or not." Ace pointed out, and Nova nodded sagely.

"True. But we gotta do something, that's a big one." Nova told her, already rummaging in the box for another picture.

"Oh, I doubt very much that Delia will let it slide, Nova, even if I wanted her to." Ace commented drily.

"Do you think she'll make tamales?" Nova asked wistfully and Ace cracked the hell up. "What? Her tamales are a religious experience."

"I completely agree. Let's be friends, Nova." Ace said seriously, regaining her composure.

"Really? We've been in this fucking truck for eight hours and you only just decided to like me? I think I'm losing my touch." Nova looked utterly dismayed, even flipped down the visor to check himself out in the mirror, as though worried that his looks had faded.

"You're still very pretty." Ace reassured him. "Just not my cup of tea, Casanova."

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy was sitting outside on the picnic table, flipping his phone open and closed, bottle of Jameson at hand between him and Chibs. The display on the front of the phone told him it was after ten, which meant that Nova and Ace were probably pretty close to Charming.

"Worrying about your woman?" Chibs observed astutely, and tipped the bottle to fill up his glass again.

"Nah, Nova's got her." Happy denied, because he wasn't precisely worried about her, it just chafed at him knowing she was nearby, but not in his bed.

"They'll practically drive through the center o' Charming, just have them stop for the night, you'll feel better for it." Chibs suggested, and refilled Happy's glass as well.

"I definitely wouldn't feel better having her in Charming." Happy shook his head at the thought. Just the fact that she was in the same state made him want to kick someone. Probably Clay, he decided, eyes narrowing at the old man standing near one of the big grills, holding court over members from New Mexico and a couple of Tacoma's guys. He'd made a point not to come near Happy, presumably because he assumed Tig had told Happy about Clay's role in Ace's abduction. Happy knew that Rivera's crew would have found another opening if it hadn't been that night, but he wasn't going to forgive his brother for that night's outcome, not in Clay's lifetime, anyway.

Jax had been all apologies and philosophical bullshit when he and Tig had rejoined the amassed Sons at the Redwood clubhouse. Happy respected Jax as an intellectual man, a smarter leader than his stepfather had been, but he was getting cocky and all his big picture dreams had clouded his judgment when Ace had been missing. The Redwood crew Happy had been a part of would have never left an old lady in an enemy's hands for even a minute longer than they had to. Jax was doing his best to make up for it, and this show of support for his personal vendetta was definitely the way to do it, but it was hard for him to look at Jax without seeing him at the head of Redwood's table with all the information he needed to bring Ace home and not moving on it.

"What time is the first crew rolling out?" Happy asked Chibs, distracting himself with business to get his mind off the surly track it was on. The assembled Sons were going to be riding out in groups of two and three at half hour intervals to keep suspicion to a minimum. The Bastardos weren't stupid, they'd turn tail and run if a big group of Harleys was spotted on the highway barreling toward Fallbrook. Small packs of weekend warriors, though, wouldn't raise anyone's hackles. They were going to meet up at the Rebel King's clubhouse and at member's homes, spreading the bikes out across Mission Viejo. From there it was only an hour's ride to Fallbrook and redemption.

"Theoretically around seven, but that's assuming anyone's awake at that hour and able to ride." Chibs answered, finishing his whiskey neatly and dropping the empty glass over the neck of the bottle.

"Fucking better be." Happy mumbled and stood up. "I'm going to find Tig. Call me if there's any trouble getting guys out in the morning, I'll come deal with it myself."

Without waiting for a response, Happy pushed off of the table and headed toward the clubhouse door. He returned the nods and handshakes from his brothers that he hadn't seen already, hating the pity that lurked in the back of every man's gaze. They all knew why they were here, and he wondered what he was going to have to do to overshadow what had been done to his old lady. It set the wheels in his head turning, considering ways he could make an example of Rivera in particular, because maybe if it was gruesome enough his brothers could begin to bury that pity under admiration.

The clubhouse proper was nearly as crowded as it had been the night before Piney's funeral. A brief scan didn't reveal Tig in any of his usual haunts, and Happy really hoped he wasn't holed up in the dorms already since they were supposed to be crashing at Tig's place and he didn't have keys. He really didn't want to try to fight for space here, it was too crowded and it was filled to the brim with unpleasant memories. The only memories he had of Tig's place were hazy ones from nights of general debauchery, uncomplicated and pain free.

Deciding that a trip to the can was probably in order before he started knocking on random doors, Happy stalked through the crowd. It was the same in here as it had been outside, with the stares and wary greetings. The only person he really welcomed any amount of conversation from was Juice, who snagged his attention from where he sat with his old lady.

"Juice." He grinned, and this hug was genuinely enthusiastic. The Puerto Rican that everyone rode for being an idiot was definitely anything but stupid, and Happy was well aware of how significant a role he'd played in pushing him and Ace back together. "It's good to see you. How're things with Jax?"

"Still pretty chilly." Juice admitted, shrugging. "Jenna and I are discussing options."

"Hey Jenna." Happy nodded to her, and she smiled back with a little wave. He didn't think she'd fully forgiven him for the fight he'd gotten into with Ace, and that was cool with him. Ace needed strong bitches like that at her back. He turned his attention back to Juice. "Anything you need, you give me a call and I'll make it happen. I owe you."

"You don't owe me, Happy." Juice shook his head, and then stopped at Happy's glare. "I appreciate it, and I'll be in touch when we're ready to make our move."

"Do that." Happy ordered and continued on to the bathroom. There was a line, mostly croweaters and hangarounds, so Happy just stepped in front of them when the door opened, daring anyone to protest. No one did.

About a gallon of used whiskey lighter, Happy found himself in the mostly deserted dorm hallway in pursuit of Tig. Bobby Elvis was leading a very young looking brunette with absurdly large breasts into a room, and there was a Prospect chatting up a not so young looking brunette.

"Hey Killah, we never got to finish what we started." Happy turned to find the tall blonde croweater that Ace had caught him with slipping right up into his personal space. She trailed one sharp, fake fingernail down his torso and over the fly of his jeans. "I'd love to get that big cock in my mouth again."

He hadn't gotten his dick sucked since the last time this slut had blown him, and he was instantly rock hard at the thought. Ace had tried to give him head last week, but it had been a certified disaster, she'd been shaking and incapable of breathing in seconds, and he'd lost his hard on. Neither one of them felt good about the attempt and they hadn't brought it up, since. But he remembered every single time before, from the first morning he'd woken up to her to the morning in Indian Hills when she'd let him fuck her mouth, or the brief but spectacular head she'd given him on her knees in the motel in Phoenix. The blonde bitch didn't miss his dick's reaction to the attention and she smiled, mistakenly convinced that it was in response to her, when really it was the flood of memories involving his old lady that had his willpower weak. She was stroking him through his jeans and he hadn't quite made up his mind to push her off when he opened his eyes to find Tig's cold blue eyes drilling into his from a few feet away.

"Get your fucking hands off of me." He grunted, and shoved past her, ignoring the bitch's indignant squeal. He didn't even pause when he passed Tig. "Let's get the fuck out of here."

"Yeah, it's definitely time to leave." Tig answered coldly, turning his gaze on the croweater. He waited until Happy had been absorbed by the crowd in the clubhouse before he caught the gash's arm in a tight grip, hauling her up so she was eye to eye to him. "You and your little cunt parade friends are gonna leave him the hell alone or else I'm gonna carve your fucking tits off, do you understand?"

Eye huge and overflowing with tears and terror, the croweater nodded furiously. Tig pushed her away and followed in the wake of his partner. Pushing out onto the lot, Killah was easy to spot. He was leaning against his distinctive ride, and Tig could see from here that he was on the phone. Killah didn't really do phone calls if he could help it, so it was a safe bet that he was talking to Ace. Tig took his time ambling over, sure that he didn't really need to get an earful of whatever they were discussing. It was either going to be that fucked up back and forth that passed for romance between them or else he was telling her all the dirty shit he wanted to be doing to her. Either way, Tig already knew the script and didn't need a refresher. Happy noted his cautious approach and nodded to him that it was safe, wrapping up his conversation with his old lady seconds after Tig got within earshot.

"Everything good?" Tig asked, mounting up and putting on his helmet.

"Yeah, they'll be at my Ma's before the sun comes up." Happy answered, not looking at him. "I wasn't gonna fuck that chick."

"No one said you were." Tig agreed and their eyes finally met. Happy nodded again, both in agreement.

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace smiled into the dark cab of the truck and tucked the phone into the inside pocket of her leather. Nova, having heard her side of the conversation felt like he was probably seeing a side to Ace, and by extension, Happy, that very few ever did. Tig, certainly, and maybe Kozik, but that was likely the extent. Happy was a quiet sort, and rarely offered up personal information to anyone not inside his very tight inner circle. He didn't figure that he would have been Happy's first choice for this particular detail, but he wouldn't have been able to order Tig or Kozik away from Fallbrook, so Nova was content with being the acceptable third choice.

"Everything copacetic in Charming?" He asked her, even though her facial expression told him that things were definitely better than alright.

"As they ever are in that town." Ace said, looking a little more serious. "It's a really strange place, you know."

"Yeah, it is." Nova agreed. "I was a Rogue River guy up until my divorce 8 years ago. It's a small town, too, but not nearly as odd a place as Charming."

"You were married?" Ace asked incredulously, trying to fit this piece of the puzzle into the fun loving, womanizing Nomad she'd assumed him to be.

"Eleven years." Nova told her, eyes on the road, fingers drumming on the steering wheel.

"Kids?" Ace asked tentatively, watching his reactions.

"Nah, I never wanted 'em, it's probably the biggest reason we split up. Shoulda never gotten together, really, I knew she wanted babies, but I thought she'd get over it or something. She was remarried and pregnant within a year, and I joined up with Quinn's crew."

"I'm sorry." Ace said, and meant it. "It sounds like you really loved her."

"Doesn't matter." He shrugged, and turned the conversation back on her. "What about you? You want kids someday?"

"Oh God, no." Ace made a face at the thought of having a baby that slept like her and made demands like Happy, it would be a nightmare.

"You got a sister who feels the same way?" Nova sighed with a half hearted chuckle.

"Sorry, I'm an only child, but I'll keep my eyes peeled." Ace offered, yawning, and pulled her knees up. Nova glanced her way and smiled ruefully, he was envious of his brother no matter how much bullshit his old lady caused for him. Ace was so sure of herself and the focus she had on Happy was undoubtedly less than textbook healthy, but Nova was more sure than ever that the killer was equally obsessed, albeit in a scarier way.

"You do that." He told her, returning his attention to the road laid out in front of them. "Get some sleep, I'll wake you up when we get to the house."

**No Other Man Alive**

The vibration of his phone woke Happy up a little after three in the morning. He rolled off of Tig's extraordinarily uncomfortable couch and made a beeline for the sliding glass door out onto the two foot square balcony.

"Yeah?" He ground out, and swallowed compulsively, trying to work the ground glass feeling out of his throat.

"Hey Killah, just wanted to let you know we're pulling into the drive in about a minute and a half. Figured you'd want to know." Nova told him, and Happy did feel better knowing that they were going to be off the road soon.

"Yeah, thanks, brother." Happy rubbed his eyes with his free hand trying to resist the impulse to have him wake her up, and failing. "Is she awake?"

"Nah, she curled up and went to sleep a little bit after getting off the phone with you." Nova told him, and Happy could picture it in his head.

"Wake her up, I want to talk to her." He decided that she'd have to wake up when they got to the house anyway, since Ace had the house key.

"Alright." Nova said, and his voice got distant as he pulled the phone away from his ear. "Yo, Perez. Wake up, Hap wants to talk to you."

"Hey, big man." She breathed sleepily into the phone. Happy closed his eyes to hold onto the image of her in his head, all flushed and languid from sleep.

"How was the drive, baby girl?" Happy asked, and didn't really care about the answer. He knew they'd made it with no problems, which was all he needed to know, this was just an easy way to listen to her talk for a while.

"It was alright. Nova went through your pictures, but I promise I didn't tell him anything incriminating." She chuckled quietly. Happy could just bet that Nova had had a field day with that. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"Yeah, I'll get back to it in a minute, just wanted to talk to you first." He told her, knowing that he really should get some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a long fucking day and he needed to be at the top of his game to pull off the complete annihilation he wanted.

"Did something happen?" Ace asked, sounding more alert and Happy realized his misstep.

"No, everything's fine. I just meant that I wanted to hear from you." He mumbled, wondering when he'd become the fucking sappy one. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Tig was still passed out.

"Ok." Ace said agreeably, even though he was sure she smiling to herself over his admission. "Oh, apparently we're here."

"Yeah, you should get inside and get back to sleep." Happy told her reluctantly. He wanted to say something to her, something heavy to hold onto if this went shit side up, but he couldn't come up with any words that would be worthy of her. "I'll see you in a few days, baby."

"Sounds perfect, big man." She answered, and he knew that she was holding back on any mention of what he was doing in the interim, which cemented how grateful he was in that moment for her absolute knowledge about what he needed. He wasn't going to be able to match her, so he just hung up the phone and opened the door quietly, sliding it closed behind him. He'd gotten as comfortable as he was going to on the fucked up couch when Tig spoke without moving, when Happy had been certain he'd still been asleep.

"Dollface make it alright?"

"Yeah, they just rolled in." Happy grunted back.

"Good, now shut the fuck up and go to sleep." Tig mumbled, pulling a pillow up over his face.

**No Other Man Alive**

Tig and Happy managed to be at the clubhouse earlier than most. They'd only missed the first group to ride out, miraculously on time. They were both sitting with their backs to the bar, each of them had a cup of coffee in one hand and a smoke in the other. Bobby Elvis had slid a largely ignored plate of gigantic muffins on the bar at some point, and he had a typed schedule of who was supposed to be leaving when in his hand, studying it.

"Who's next?" Happy asked as the clock was starting to wind down with no sign of life anywhere in the clubhouse.

"Guys from SAMTAZ." Bobby answered, still staring at the sheet. "Four guys, figured we'd send em all together."

"They crash here?" Tig broke in, but Bobby shrugged.

"Don't know. I left soon after I saw you." Bobby said, nodding at Happy.

"Go check the garage, see if they bedded down there." Happy ordered Tig, and Tig nodded. Bobby sparked a joint and took a drag on it, then offered it silently to Happy, who shook his head. "I thought you had a no bud before nine rule?"

"Sure. It's past nine on the Eastern seaboard, right?" Bobby told him, taking a bite out of one of the muffins, and brushing crumbs from his beard. They both looked up at the sound of an air horn coming from the direction Tig had gone. "Guess Tigger found them."

"Guess so." Happy answered, and they both laughed. They'd started to recover when the four bedraggled SAMTAZ guys shuffled into the clubhouse, pulling on cuts and rubbing bloodshot eyes, which made Happy and Bobby laugh all over again.

"Coffee?" Bobby offered, getting his guffaws under control.

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace blew the tangle of curls out of her face so she could get a decent look at the clock. Ten in the morning seemed fairly reasonable to her, given that she'd lain awake for a few hours after arriving at Delia's house. She knew that there was a lot that Happy hadn't been saying on the phone, and it had taken her about an hour to decide that she shouldn't be worrying about him. Anything that was going to go down in Fallbrook wouldn't happen until that night, and she was certain that one of her Nomads would check in afterward, so there wasn't any point to stressing over it.

Sitting up, Ace rolled her neck and then winced when she stretched. Her neck was still a little stiff from sleeping in the truck, and she rubbed at it half heartedly. Waking up in Happy's old room was as much as head trip as it had been the first time. Despite being newly thirty, Ace felt a little bit like a high school kid getting caught sneaking out of her boyfriend's room. Not that she'd been the type to sneak around much as a kid; her own parents hadn't really been big on enforcing any rules, so she'd mostly been left to her own devices. The only one who'd ever really commented on her comings and goings had been Delia, usually on the mornings she'd stopped over for coffee because her sleep pattern was all fucked up.

Achieving vertical status, Ace dug through Happy's drawers until she found a fair of his basketball shorts and pulled them on, tucking her Glock into the waistband at the small of her back. Catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror on the back of the door, Ace wrinkled her nose and gathered the mess of curls into a knot on top of her head. Leaning in for a better look, Ace realized that she needed to make a judgment call on her hair color soon, her natural red a pretty obvious standout at the roots. Choosing to ignore her unruly hair for the time being, Ace wandered down the stairs, trailing her fingers lightly over the worn banister and smiling.

The house smelled like everything good about her childhood, and virtually nothing had changed. She could remember sitting on these stairs, peeking through the rails, usually to spy on Happy with the friends he'd sneak in while he was supposed to be watching her. She'd spent countless hours in Delia's closet playing dress up, and even more sitting at the kitchen table, drawing. The house itself was almost like another member of her tiny little family, and she loved it fiercely.

"Good morning." She greeted Delia, her voice still rough from sleeping. The tiny woman abandoned what she was doing at the counter and enveloped Ace in the kind of hugs only mothers can produce. Ace felt her eyes sting a little, but forbade herself to start sniffling at anything now.

"How's my beautiful birthday girl?" Delia teased, pushing her toward a kitchen chair. Ace rolled her eyes, and in a move that she'd seen Happy do a hundred times or more, she pulled her piece from its place and set it carefully on the table. She caught Delia's sigh and shrugged helplessly. "You two are more and more alike every day."

"It's his fault!" Ace protested, laughing. "It's definitely not my idea to 'carry every single second between now and when I see you next.'" Ace dropped her voice in a distinct and uncanny imitation of Happy's trademark growl.

"That's fucking creepy." Nova said, coming into the room, his eyes a little spooked.

"Sorry." Ace apologized, and grinned at Delia when she set a plate of eggs and bacon in front of her. "Thanks."

"So what kind of hijinks are we getting into today, birthday beauty?" Nova asked her, watching her eat.

"I'm thirty, isn't this the year women get to start ignoring birthdays?" Ace groaned. "And how are you up before me when you drove most of the night?"

"Had to check in with Quinn." Nova told her, and she nodded. "I told Delia we wanted tamales for your birthday, I hope that's cool with you."

"Ha!" Ace snorted. "Yes, that's fine. Did you check in with Charming, too?"

"No, did you?" Nova raised an eyebrow.

"No." Ace replied and glanced over to Delia, studiously not listening. "Hap will call if he needs to."

"Fact. Now what are we doing, Perez? We got nothing but time and opportunity." Nova was leaning forward on his elbows, intent on getting an answer from her.

"Honestly, all I really need to do is find someone to fix my hair." Ace admitted.

"Really?" Nova asked drily. "We've got all day and that's the best you can come up with?"

"Oh suck it, Nova, you'll live." Ace laughed, tossing a piece of bacon at him, which he caught and shoved into his mouth.

"Mrs. Alvarez can probably fit you in if you walk down there." Delia told her, pausing to kiss the top of Ace's head.

"How much fussing do I have to take over marrying your son?" Ace asked, washing her plate at the sink.

"Probably quite a bit." Delia smirked, and it was easy to see where Hap got his looks from. "But I'd say you earned it after you guys blew in and out in a few hours last time. Hector took it like a man when he stopped here on his own, I'm sure you'll manage just fine."

**No Other Man Alive**

It was nearing four in the afternoon, and Happy was losing patience with the waiting game. Jax, Chibs, and Juice were due to leave any minute, and then he and Tig could take to the road, bringing up the rear. He'd hit Juice's stash a little while ago in an attempt to chill the fuck out, but the high was only barely keeping him from pacing the clubhouse like a caged animal. Tig was next to him, knee bouncing frenetically.

"Cut that shit out." He barked finally. "You're driving me fucking crazy."

"Sorry, brother." Tig apologized, kicking his feet out in front of him and crossing his boots. "This shit is taking fucking forever."

"I know. But once we get to the Rebel King clubhouse, they should all be assembled and all we gotta do is suit up and go." Happy reminded him. "Jax'll have em all riled up by the time we roll in."

"Hey guys, you mind if I ride with you instead?" Juice asked, laying his cut on the bar as he came into the clubhouse. Happy and Tig exchanged a look, and Tig rolled his eyes heavenward in a bid for patience.

"Sure." Happy told him. "Trouble in paradise?"

"No more than the usual since I disappeared with you." Juice said, sitting on the coffee table across from them. "Are you still heading East after this to track Rivera?"

"Obviously." Happy grunted, and absent mindedly pulled his knife to check the edge.

"And when you're done, what's your plan?" Juice pushed, and Happy looked up at him.

"You're really ready to jump charters?" He asked seriously.

"Jenna doesn't feel safe here anymore with Jax freezing me out." Juice explained, side eyeing the door warily. Happy understood the nerves and went to the clubhouse door, opening it and taking up a lean to watch as Jax and Chibs readied themselves for the ride.

"Hey!" He barked, getting Jax's attention. "I'm gonna take Juice."

Jax didn't protest, which spoke volumes about where the two of them were at with each other. He just waved a hand to acknowledge that he'd heard and mounted up without another glance. Happy watched as the two Harleys took off out of the lot, and closed the door.

"Yeah, you gotta jump soon." He told Juice. "We're going to stay East. I want the entire country between Redwood and Ace."

"I hate to be the asshole here, but I'm not fucking dealing with another old lady and a goddamn baby." Tig said seriously, his eyebrows getting lost in his hairline.

"So you're still not going to a charter?" Juice asked, rubbing the bald sides of his head nervously, rocking a little in his seat.

"No, but that doesn't mean you can't." Happy told him. "NY would kill for a tech guy like you, or try Miami on for size, nothing but possibilities, man."

"Yeah. I just don't want to leave Jenna here for too long while I figure it out, ya know?" Juice told him, still rocking like a junkie.

"Chill the fuck out, I fucking get it, bro. I wouldn't want to leave my ol' lady for that long, either. Ride out when we're done with Rivera, take a week or two to pick a charter that you like and there you go." Happy told him, shrugging. It didn't seem that complicated to him, but then his girl came with no strings attached which he was eternally grateful for. "I'll even throw some inquiries out for you if you want."

"Yeah, man, that'd be good." Juice agreed gratefully and stood up. Happy hugged him, and slapped the side of his face lightly.

"You're doing the right thing, Juice. Gotta protect your family." Happy told him, and grinned. "Besides, it'll make my life a fuck of a lot easier to have you and Jenna on the East coast to watch out for Ace."

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace was thoroughly amused observing Nova's completely bewildered expression while sitting in the salon chair next to hers. The rapid fire Spanish was utterly beyond his comprehension, which only spurred the ladies on to more extravagant and outlandish compliments to various parts of Nova's anatomy. Ace's shoulders were shaking with the effort not to laugh out loud at him.

"I don't actually want to know what they're saying, do I?" Nova asked, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. The women within earshot laughed at that, which told him all he needed to know.

"No, probably not." Ace told him honestly. She'd feel bad for him, except that she'd already been raked over the coals for her spontaneous elopement. There had been a solid hour of exclamations over her ring and ink, and about a million questions about how long they'd been seeing each other and what had happened to Tony, and Ace had ducked most of them. She knew that the general assumption was that her and Hap had been having an affair for years before Tony had committed suicide, and although that irritated her, it wasn't worth trying to explain. Any protestations would only make her look more guilty, so she just kept silent. She figured it was probably what most people who knew them thought anyway, because the idea of two people having as much history between them as she and Happy did without crossing physical boundaries was inconceivable to outsiders.

"Are we almost done here?" Nova asked, nearly whining, and Ace laughed.

"Yep. I'm not going to bother drying this mess." Ace waved a hand at her mass of curls, already beginning to riot. She pulled her phone out and checked the time, nearly five, and no missed calls or texts. "You haven't heard from anyone, have you?" She asked Nova, pulling her wallet out and paying Mrs. Alvarez for her artistry in returning Ace's curls to one uniform color.

"Not a peep from anyone other than Bulldog." Nova told her. "Tacoma's all quiet."

"I can imagine." Ace said, leading the Nomad on the three block walk back to Delia's house. He was fascinated by the amount of attention she received, every third person they passed called out to her or waved.

"Quite the popular attraction." Nova commented after Ace stopped to talk to an older man sitting in a folding lawn chair on the sidewalk, smoking a pipe.

"Oh, I wasn't nearly so popular when I lived here." Ace told him, turning backwards to face him.

"I find that hard to believe based on all the attention." Nova said, reaching out to catch her by the arm when she tripped over a crack in the sidewalk.

"I ran a little wild after Hap took off for Tacoma." Ace explained. "And I took a lot of shit for being the half breed offspring of junkie parents."

"It's really weird thinking about Happy and you as a kid." Nova told her, following suit as she flopped down on one of the chairs on Delia's deep front porch. She put her piece down on the little table behind a pot of flowers.

"I know." Ace twisted her hair up into a loose bun. "I guess the age difference is a little fucked up when you factor in how long we've known each other."

"No, it's not that." Nova said, his brow furrowed as he tried to work out what he meant. "At least, it's not just that. It's more that you guys are so…I don't know, in sync with each other now that it's strange to consider that you weren't always on the same level."

"Yeah, not always, I promise." Ace snorted, considering the blow out fights that they'd had. They definitely needed to get that in check soon, or they might kill each other the next time. She checked her phone again, even though she knew it wouldn't tell her anything new.

"Worried?" Nova asked, nodding to the phone she was flipping open and shut.

"No." Ace said, and Nova just stared her down. "Maybe."

"Well don't be. The amount of men and firepower that they have at this little shindig is beyond overkill." Nova chuckled, spinning his boot gun on one finger to entertain himself.

"It's not that I don't think he can handle himself." Ace defended. "It's just still raw."

"You both came out the other side, this is nothing." Nova reassured her, and put his piece next to hers, and patted her hand awkwardly. Ace shot him a look and he pulled his hand back, laughing. "You think the tamales are done, yet?"

**No Other Man Alive**

It was an uneventful ride down from Charming to the Rebel Kings' clubhouse in Mission Viejo. Tig and Happy had their cuts under hoodies, and Juice had left his on the bar, so they were just three bikers out for a ride down I-5. Happy spent the time in his head, considering what Tig had said about allowing Ace to witness the downfall of Rivera, and about Juice, thinking about moving his family East.

When they'd parted ways after Fallbrook, he'd been pretty certain that Jax would let up on the geek eventually, but Jax seemed short on forgiveness these days. If Ace hadn't put her foot down about Tacoma, Happy would have encouraged Juice to head up that way. It was a good charter for families, but since they were staying East, it really suited his purposes better to have Juice out that way, too. It had been a lot of years since he'd spent any time working for Bishop's crew of Nomads, so he didn't have the tight connections out there, yet, that he would need for Ace. Ace wouldn't object to spending time with Juice and Jenna, though, while he was working.

His mind circled back to Ace, like it always did. Rivera was going to die, and Happy had every intention of making it brutal and bloody, the kind of torture that was biblical and barbaric. She knew him for the killer that he was, but it was one thing to know it, and another entirely to see how savage he was about to get. He had no illusions that some of the shit he'd been contemplating was beyond what even he'd thought he was capable of. But for her? He'd found himself capable of all kinds of things he'd never expected, so this wasn't any different. He didn't think he wanted her to witness the depths of depravity he was willing to go to for her, though. Tig had insisted repeatedly that Ace was tougher than he gave her credit for, and he guessed he knew that, but there was a part of him that wanted to keep her insulated from all that. He knew it was completely absurd, he'd been the one who had repeatedly brought her into this world, since she'd been a child, he'd been tying her up in his life with the club.

Happy spent more than a few miles reflecting back on the first night he'd given her a tattoo gun. On her big, trusting eyes and how that one single act had set his boot on the path that would always lead back to her. He wondered if she felt the same way about that night, if that mark had given her the same feeling of ownership. He hadn't really grudged her her marriage to Tony, but it had definitely confused him when his Ma had told him. She'd seemed still a child to him, even though she'd been 18 and mostly running her parents' household by that time. He'd come home to take care of his mother when she'd had her heart attack, so he'd gotten into town when Ace's parents had kicked it. He would've gone to the funeral, but there hadn't been one, and in a matter of days she'd been gone. He'd been so wrapped up in his fear for his mother that he hadn't been too concerned. He'd only learned that she'd gone and gotten married when his Ma had called him with the news several months later. She hadn't even been surprised when he'd tracked her to Fallbrook and knocked on the door of her shitty little apartment, and handed her his tat gun. He didn't ask about her marriage and she didn't defend it, either. Tony had come home and strutted around in his uniform, trying to convince himself that he was playing in the same league as Happy. He hadn't given a shit about him, all he was there for was to check on his girl. It was a pattern that would continue for all the years until that last time.

Abandoning the semi distant past, he let himself go back to the moment Rivera's henchmen had pulled her from the van. She hadn't been able to stand, weak from blood loss. He knew now that she must've only been dressed for minutes before she'd been brought to the meeting, because her black shirt had still been able to camouflage how bad the bleeding had gotten. Even worse than the blood and the bruises had been when she'd looked at him and smiled. Her lip had been split and her teeth bloody, but the pain and fear still hadn't dampened her natural reaction to him. That memory carried him the remaining miles to Mission Viejo.

By the time he pulled onto the Rebel King's lot with Juice and Tig behind him, his rage and hate had coalesced into a cold ball of purpose in his gut. He wasn't man or club or husband anymore, all he was was the task in front of him. Kozik met his eyes from where he stood with a knot of brothers from New Mexico, and Happy knew that he'd been about the business of reminding them why they were doing this. Happy couldn't think of a better man for the job. He wasn't one for words, but Kozik was a talker and he'd had the privilege and misfortune to have gotten a front row ticket to the disaster Ace had been afterward. Jax appeared to be similarly engaged, and although he didn't have the same personal interest that Kozik did, he had the advantage of being King and a bone deep belief in anything that came out of his own mouth.

Happy dismounted and lit a smoke, hyper aware of all the eyes on him. Tig was at his right hand and Juice a step behind on his left. He waded through the mass of men, not a single one spoke to him, just a hand clapped on his shoulder as they cleared out of his path. When he got to the middle of the group he stopped, boots planted on the pavement. All around him the voices of his brothers died down until it was dead silent. If he had had any ounce of feeling to spare, he would have been grateful for the monumental show of support. He turned a slow circle, meeting as many eyes as he could, ending with Jax. They nodded to each other once and Jax led the assemblage to the line of Harleys. The time for rabble rousing and speeches had passed, it was finally time to get down to the real business. This was why any man had chosen the life, the ability to call on the club if any of your nightmares came to life.

**No Other Man Alive**

Ace was bathed in the light from 30 candles stuck in as many cupcakes on the table in front of her. She didn't even notice when Nova snapped a picture with his phone, her eyes were shut as she made the only wish she could think of; for no man to be killed in defense of her tonight. She felt her phone vibrate once against her leg, indicating an incoming message, but she didn't check it, just blew as hard as she could, once and then again to extinguish the candles. Under cover of the table, she pulled the phone out and flipped it open long enough to see that it was a picture from Tig's phone, but she didn't wait for it to load, just flipped it shut again and pocketed it. Its presence burned against her leg, but she forced herself to laugh and smile with Delia and Nova, her Nomad shadow.

The effort of the show she was putting on for Happy's mother's benefit was exhausting her, but she did her best not to let it show. Delia knew that Happy was an outlaw, but there was no way Ace was going to be the one to give her any indication that what he was about tonight was anything other than business as usual. She'd brushed off all of Delia's queries about the possibility of grandchildren, and felt a little bad to have disappointed her. She hadn't been surprised, of course, but it seemed that she still had some lingering hopes.

It was a relief when Delia had finally dropped a kiss on top of Ace's head, and another on Nova, and said her good nights. Ace let her head hang back over the chair for a minute with her eyes shut. Sitting upright, she pulled the band from her hair, and rubbed her scalp, wincing at the tenderness, a side effect of tying up her heavy curls. When she felt like she could stand it, Ace pulled her phone out and flipped it open, laying on the table in front of her. Nova stayed silent through this, watching her in the way that she'd become very familiar with from her time in Kozik and Tig's care. Tig had taken the picture from behind and to Hap's right, so his face was almost entirely in shadow. Beyond him were Sons on every side. She stared at her strong, proud man for a long minute, until she couldn't look at it for another second without going mad, so she pushed away from the table and left the phone where it lay.

She heard Nova retrieving it and coming after her, but she wasn't going far. All Ace wanted was to be outside, where she could breathe a little easier. Tig had almost certainly meant that picture to be reassuring, to show her that the entire SOA nation had shown up to help Happy finish this job, but the set of his shoulders, and the hard line of his jaw reminded her too strongly of the day he'd given himself up for her. She'd been so relieved to see him, until he'd told her captors to give her to Tig, and then she'd finally realized what he'd done. It still made her sick.

Ace went to the truck, only realizing after she tried to open the door that it was locked. She turned back to the porch, and Nova held the keys up and tossed them to her. She nodded her thanks and opened the passenger door. She didn't climb in, because she knew that her silent flight likely had her bodyguard a little nervous. Instead, she leaned in and rooted in the glove compartment until her hand landed on the pack of cigarettes she'd known Hap would plant there. Flipping it open she couldn't help but smile weakly, since even though he'd put them there for her to find, he'd also made sure she didn't have more than half a pack to smoke. She shut the door and went to sit on the porch, pulling the ashtray Happy used within easy reach.

"I didn't know you smoked." Nova observed, taking up the spot next to her.

"I don't, usually." Ace said, lighting up. Nova just nodded, wisely remaining silent. When she'd finished the cigarette, stubbing it out in the ashtray, and still didn't show any signs of moving or talking, Nova put her phone down next to her Glock and stood up. She watched curiously as he disappeared into the house, surprised that he would leave her alone, but he returned moments later holding two beers in each hand. She took the one he offered, twisting the cap off. They tapped the necks of the bottles together and drank silently. It would be hours before any word came from Happy, she knew, but she wouldn't be able to sleep anyway so she stayed where she was and drank with Nova.

**No Other Man Alive**

Manuel Hernandez met the Sons at the motel outside of Fallbrook that Happy and Juice had lain up in. Even though Jax had ridden at the head of the column, it was Happy and Tig that dismounted and went to meet him. Happy and Manuel shook hands solemnly, each of them with their trigger man at their right hand.

"Everything is all set up for you." Hernandez told him. "We made certain that every member would need to be in that building tonight, the rest is up to you to handle."

"Appreciate it." Happy choked out, and pulled an envelope from inside his cut. At Hernandez's raised eyebrow, Happy handed it to him. "Personal gratitude."

"A pleasure." Hernandez said and accepted it, tucking it away without even looking. They shook hands again and it was on.

The Sons scattered in small groups again, they would have their rides stashed all over Fallbrook's tiny downtown and approach the pool hall on foot. Happy was only mildly surprised when Juice opted to stick with him and Tig instead of joining his own charter. He didn't spare another thought for it, though. He'd given Bill the heads up to close down early, so the tat shop was dark when they pulled into the quiet back lot. It was his intention never to come back to this town, and he trailed his hand along the brick face of the shop as he led the way to the pool hall.

He pulled the assault rifle from where it hung on his shoulder, his eyes seeking out his brothers as they all stepped out of the shadows all along Main Street. More were coming along the back of the building, he knew, ready to pick off any banger that tried to bitch out the back door. He didn't need to pretend to secrecy, the law enforcement in this shithole town had been paid handsomely to be otherwise occupied tonight. The rest of the Sons were doing what they could to stay out of sight, since the door was flanked by two huge windows, but Happy walked right up to the door, Tig and Juice still behind him and Kozik beating feet down the sidewalk to join them.

Weapons were cocked and Happy held up three fingers, then two, and then time slowed. He kicked in the door and even though the sound of guns and shattering glass should've been deafening, all Happy could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat. The room was dimly lit, but targets made themselves immediately apparent. Each time he pulled the trigger another pissant hit the floor, until the disgusting industrial carpet was soaked in blood. When he ran out of ammo, he traded the rifle for both his SIGs, not ready to let up while there were still Bastardos breathing.

Too soon, though, the room was quiet. Still on guard, Happy scanned the upright bodies, but every man drawing breath was a Son. He could feel Tig close behind him, but he'd lost Juice and Kozik in the chaos. He went systematically from body to body, making sure that every single one was dead. His boot squelched in a puddle of blood where four of them lay practically on top of each other. Only when he was sure the room was clear did he begin to notice his surroundings.

"Where's Juice?" He asked Tig, but didn't need an answer because Juice raised his hand from across the bank of pool tables. "Kozik?"

"Caught a bullet in the leg." Tig told him, chuckling gleefully. "Nearly took his balls off, but he's fine."

"Everyone else whole?" Happy asked, and nodded when he got all clears from everyone in the room. He pushed through to the back and was met by Jax, who had headed the cleanup crew out back.

"We're good out here, no one got past." Jax told him without being asked. "Everyone good inside?"

"Yeah. Kozik took a bullet through the thigh, though. I'm going to have Nova bring the truck down to get him." Happy answered, and they hugged. "Thanks for this."

"Anytime, brother." Jax told him, and turned. "Alright, let's get outta here."

Sons melted back away into the shadows. Each charter had their own plans for the retreat, and Happy left them to it. Tig had snagged Donut to help with Kozik, and Happy wedged himself under Kozik's other arm to help pull him back to Bill's shop. Tig jimmied the lock on the back door, and they went in. Happy got Kozik settled in one of the chairs and backed off while Donut went to work on him.

**No Other Man Alive**

At some point Nova had just given up on ferrying back and forth to get beer and brought the twelve pack out and set it between them. Ace had managed to match him beer for beer, without turning a hair. She'd been completely steady on her feet a few minutes before when she'd gone inside to use the bathroom. The only indication that she'd been drinking was that her eyelids had gotten heavier as the night wore on. They still weren't talking, but the silence was an easy one, even though it was weighty.

The sound of Nova's phone ringing made them both start a little. He shot her a look and then dug the phone out from his cut and answered it.

"Yo." He said, and Ace pulled her knees up, hugging them to her chest and watching Nova's face carefully in the thin light from the distant streetlamp.

"Yeah, yeah of course." Nova said, and Ace waited anxiously. "I'm leaving right now."

At that, Ace sat bolt upright, hands balled into fists so tight that her nails dug into her palms. Nova shook his head at her, but she couldn't relax.

"He's fine, Perez." Nova told her, closing the phone. "The only one who got hurt was Kozik, I'm just gonna take the truck to pick him up because he can't ride."

"Everyone else is ok?" Ace pressed, following him to the porch stairs.

"Yep, they cleaned house on those fuckers." Nova told her, and pushed her back toward the house. "Get inside and lock the goddamn door."

"It's really over?" She asked him, resisting the shove. Nova relented a little, because she suddenly looked half her age.

"Yeah, Perez, it's over. Happy birthday." He told her, and gave her another gentle push toward the door and this time she went.

"Be careful, Nova." She directed, and pulled the door closed. He waited until the lock clicked shut, and then he dashed quickly to the truck. It wasn't until he'd hit the highway that he remembered the picture he'd snapped earlier. Since they were all clear, he figured that it was safe to send it to Happy, remind him what the day was.

**No Other Man Alive**

Suddenly beyond exhausted, Ace dragged herself up the stairs to Happy's room. The bed looked incredibly inviting and she rushed to get herself ready for bed. She didn't bother with actual pajamas, just tossed her jeans in the general direction of her duffel bag and stripped off her bra without even taking her tank top off. She crawled onto the bed, wrapping herself in the quilt and settled in. She'd expected to fall asleep in seconds given the amount of beer she'd tucked away and how tired she was, but as the minutes ticked by, the more clear her mind become until she was wide awake. She kept her eyes closed for a few more minutes, trying to deny the wakefulness, but finally she gave up and stared at the ceiling.

"Goddammit." Ace muttered, throwing the covers back and sitting up. She went for the one thing she always counted on when she was burning hours in the middle of the night. She'd started working on this piece back in Tacoma, the night she'd agreed to stay with Happy. It had gone through a dozen different incarnations, but now she knew exactly what the finished piece should look like. She flipped on the light next to the bed and spread her pencils out on the pillow in front of her. She closed her eyes and pictured it in her head, and when she was sure she had every line perfect, she opened them again and bent her head to her work.

**No Other Man Alive**

Happy had gone outside to smoke while Donut sewed up the exit wound on Kozik's leg. His phone buzzed once in his pocket, and he was surprised. Ace wasn't usually one to try to get ahold of him first, especially when he was sure Nova had already told her that he was fine. He stuck his cigarette in his mouth and pulled the phone out, anxious to make sure that nothing was wrong on her end. It was a picture from Nova, though, and he opened it and smiled. Ace looked so damn gorgeous, and her hair was back to red. It took a long minute for him to catch on to the rest of the fucking picture and realize what the goddamn date was.

"Son of a bitch, I'm the world's biggest asshole." He muttered, snapping the phone closed as the door opened next to him.

"Who's the world's biggest asshole?" Tig asked, joining him. Happy shook his head and opened the phone again, and handed it over to Tig. "You planned this on her fucking birthday, man?" He laughed, passing the phone back. "Brother, you really suck at this."

"It's not that fucking funny." Happy grumbled, flicking the butt of his cigarette across the alley, watching the shower of sparks as it hit the opposite wall. Tig snorted one more time and clapped him hard on the shoulder.

"Come on, if we leave now, you'll only have missed it by like, five hours." Tig told him, shaking off his exhaustion for the ride. He knew Hap, and there wasn't anything he could say to keep him from taking off for his old lady, and he definitely wasn't going to let the Killah ride alone.

**No Other Man Alive**

The adrenaline of the night had burned off before they'd made it a hundred miles toward Bakersfield. It made the second leg of the journey feel like it took days instead of an hour and change. Pulling onto his Ma's street, Happy ignored the greetings of the young thugs still standing around drinking beer, sights set only on getting back to Ace. He was off his Harley and up the steps to the porch before Tig even had his kickstand down. He forced himself to slow down and wait for his partner. This flight to his childhood home had none of the desperation of earlier runs to his old lady. He reminded himself that knew where she was and that she was safe, so her could afford the extra minute.

"I'll hit the couch and wait for Nova and Kozik." Tig told him as Happy unlocked the door. Happy nodded silently and left Tig to it.

Happy paused at the bottom of the stairs, toeing his boots off to carry up, he didn't want to wake either of the women if he could help it. He shouldn't have worried, though, because Ace didn't even flinch when he opened the door. The lamp on his nightstand was on, so he had a clear view of her curled up with her sketchpad under her cheek, pencils scattered fucking everywhere on the bed. It was so typically Ace that he couldn't help chuckling under his breath.

She was thirty years old now, he reflected while he stripped his clothes off, folding them and leaving them on top of the dresser. It was an odd realization to come to, because on one hand she still seemed so impossibly young to him, or maybe it was that she made him feel young. On the other hand, though, she was whipcrack smart and he almost never felt the age difference come between them.

Stripped down, he sat on the edge of the bed, cocking his head to get a look at what Ace had been working on. It was a stretch of highway with a green road sign. Careful not to disturb her, he gently slid the book out from under her cheek to read the town name on the sign. Squinting at it, he started laughing silently, trying not to shake her, but when he glanced down, her eyes were open and on him.

"Road to redemption." He commented, holding up the book, and she nodded with a small smile. He brushed the mass of red curls off her forehead. She was always a stunner, but he thought she looked the most breathtaking right after she'd woken up, all flushed and mussed. "Where's it going to go?"

Ace disentangled a hand from the quilt and traced a line that started high on his ribs and curled around to the bottom of his shoulder blade. Looking at the drawing in his hand he knew that it would fit perfectly in the spot she'd indicated, no adjustments or resizing needed. It would go into his skin like he'd been waiting for it. He guessed that in a way he had been. He put the book on the nightstand and turned the lamp off, sliding down next to her. He tossed pencils behind him on the floor as he encountered them, feeling her laugh silently against him.

"You're back early." She breathed when they were nose to nose in the darkness. Breathing him in, he smelled like gunpowder and wind and she closed the inch between them to taste him, too.

"I missed your birthday." He murmured against her lips when she pulled back a little.

"You're here now." She told him, unconcerned, but he shook his head a little.

"You know you deserve better, baby." He told her, trying to be serious, but she was wiggling out from under the blanket and nipping his earlobe. When she'd freed herself, Ace threw her leg across his hip, pushing on his shoulder, and Happy let her roll him onto his back. He wrapped her hair around his hand and tugged her face down to his. He resisted the urge to put her on her back underneath him, wanting to give her the illusion of control for as long as he could stand it. She opened her big eyes and smirked at him, though, and she clearly knew what he wanted. He bit down on her lip, then suck it between his when she hissed. He'd forgotten that he'd bruised her the night before he'd left Tacoma.

Wrapping an arm around her waist, he sat up and flipped her, pressing her into the mattress beneath him. She gasped and then hummed her approval, hands gripping his shoulders. He danced his hands down her sides and up under her top, pulling it off slowly, watching as every inch of skin was revealed. He should have known better than to expect her to take any kind of passive role, but it still managed to surprise him when she didn't wait for him, but pushed down those miniscule shorts herself. He levered himself off of her and pushed her hands away, drawing the lace down and off her incredible legs. The crotch of the panties was soaked and he groaned, eyes traveling up her body. She was moving a little restlessly, and her eyes were hungry. He slid his hands up the inside of her thighs, pushing them farther apart. He brushed his mouth over one leg, tasting her skin and growling when he got close enough that he could smell how wet she was.

"C'mere." Ace's voice was rough, and she stilled his progress with a hand over his.

"You sure?" He asked, cocking a brow at her. He wanted to put his mouth all over her, but she was pulling on his wrist and he was easily turned by her insistence. He slid his arms under her, banding one across her back and pushing his other hand into her hair to cradle the back of her head. She was the one who took his cock in her hand and rubbed the head of him at her entrance until it was coated in her juices. He flexed his hips and she rolled her legs open, hooking her ankles around the backs of his knees so that his dick slid inside her on one stroke.

It was heady as always being inside her. The house was dead silent around them and he felt absolute peace of mind. The blood of the night behind him no longer mattered, and he was so sure of the revenge still ahead of him that it was of no consequence at all. The only thing that existed in that moment for him was Ace, and while he was buried so deep inside her that he had to wonder if he was hurting her, she was likewise bone deep in him, so much a part of him that he couldn't fathom how he'd survived the years he'd spent without her. She had her arms wrapped around his back, holding him fiercely against her, and they were so tangled up that he could her heartbeat against his chest. Both of them kept their eyes open, and there wasn't any desperation or bid for control. When she came, arching back on a quiet sob, he followed, burying his face in her neck, her red curls halfway covering both their faces.

He didn't move, but cracked an eye. The room was still dark, but it was the kind of dark that came just before the sun began to rise. Later they would set off on the journey that would see them through the final portion of vengeance, but it felt like it was all already behind him. It wouldn't matter where they went from here, he was certain that it would be exactly where he needed to be for her. He picked his head up to look at her face. Her eyes were still closed, but her lips curved in a small smile.

"You gonna make a wish for your birthday?" He asked her, wanting to give her something, anything, so she could know how desperately grateful he was for her presence in his life.

"Why on Earth would I do that?" She asked quietly, finally looking at him through her lashes. After a moment, her eyes drifted closed again and she tightened her arms around him. "You're everything I want."

**The End**

_**My sincere and profound thanks to all my incredible readers who have stuck with me through this journey. I have made some awesome friends, and through this story I've been given really amazing opportunities. It has truly been the ride of a lifetime to write this, and I could never have accomplished it without the support of my husband, friends, and frequent reviewers. I look forward to revisiting Happy and Ace in the future, but for now, this is the end of their road. Again, my gratitude is so much bigger than I could ever hope to express. Peace on the road.**_


	41. Epilogue

**Disclaimer-You know the drill, I only own my storylines and original characters, and never the Sons of Anarchy.**

The ride across country had been some of the most fun Happy had had on a motorcycle in years. He always enjoyed riding, but in recent years he had spent a lot of time riding toward a destination and not just for the joy of catching the wind. He and Tig had decided to let Ace be the navigator, and she had kept them on their toes and guessing with the insane, circuitous route that she planned out.

They'd spent two days at the Grand Canyon, something that he'd never really bothered to stop and see. Tig had mostly grumbled about how fucking stupid it had been, but Happy had found himself fascinated by the sheer grandiosity of it, and by Ace's almost childlike enthusiasm for riding the rim at all different hours to see it in different lights. He was certain they'd broken half a dozen federal laws the night they'd hiked down one of the trails and found a hidden crevasse, but the thrill of fucking her there had been more than worth the risk.

Dallas had turned into a gigantic party, hosted by the charter there. It was a big charter, nearly as large as Tacoma, but every single member there had a huge personality to match their big state. They had only intended to overnight there, but Tig and Ace had gone shot for shot with tequila, so they ended up staying an additional night because neither one of them could stand the next morning.

Ace had been so captivated by New Orleans that they'd stay an entire week. She found the strangest little jazz bars, and had taken to wearing suspenders and a fedora every time they went out. She defended it by telling him that she couldn't drink scotch or smoke cigars without them. He followed her through the city, always intrigued with the things that caught her interest. She'd spent over an hour in a disturbing little voodoo book store, talking to the ancient old man who ran it. He didn't have a goddamn clue what they'd been talking about, but he thought Ace might have given him a heart attack, leaning over the counter, the old geezer had gotten a great view of her tits. He'd considered saying something to her, but figured the poor guy didn't have many thrills left to him before he kicked it. As enamored with the city as she had been, Happy thought they might end up staying another week, but Ace surprised him as always, and one morning he'd woken up to her packing their things with an intense look on her face. When he'd questioned her about it, she'd been direct, telling him that she was ready to see the end of Rivera, and so that had been that.

Their arrival in Miami had been unanticipated and therefore without fanfare. Ace had forbade him to call ahead, telling him that she didn't want all the fuss and stares that would come with any advanced notice. No one here knew her; all they knew of her was what had been done to her and why they had come. She had been right, of course, even Happy had been tired of the looks by the end of their first evening. His original plan had been to stay the night at the clubhouse and find something more suitable the next day, but he'd pulled aside the club's intelligence officer and gotten directions to a decent hotel instead. After Church that week, when the clubhouse and its deck were packed with members and hangarounds, he'd set her to work on the Road to Redemption piece, giving Miami something new to talk about.

It had taken nearly two weeks to draw Rivera out. Tig had started taking Ace out to any club that Viva thought Rivera might be frequenting, in the hope that in his youthful arrogance he wouldn't be able to resist trying to get at her. It hadn't exactly worked, but when Happy had finally run him down at the house he was staying at, Rivera had been completely terrified. He'd gotten glimpses of Ace out in Miami several times, and so he'd known that Happy couldn't be far behind. Rivera had been right and Happy had literally dragged him out of the house kicking and screaming, just before dawn.

One of the Miami charter's members owned a handful of nightclubs, and it was in the basement storeroom of one of these that Happy had been given room to work his will on Rivera. The only constraint was that Viva was sending a clean up crew at 6, so he needed to wrap things up. He was impressed that he'd been able to keep the shithead alive for nearly twelve hours, using a salt and baking soda solution to keep him from going into shock, and making very certain to avoid any large veins or arteries. Rivera was conscious, but he'd screamed himself hoarse, so all that came from his mouth were dry clicking noises and hisses. He wasn't even recognizably human any more, Happy had flayed the skin off of his face after he'd carefully removed his eyes. He'd pulled his fingernails and broken the bones in his feet and hands individually, giving the asshole plenty of time to come back to himself in between. Glancing at the clock, Happy decided that he'd had enough. He was sweat soaked and covered in blood and God only knew what other bodily fluids. He'd sacrificed his shirt hours before when he'd nicked a vein that bled far more than it should have, and he knew that he'd have to lose everything else, right down to his fucking boots to destroy any evidence.

Happy checked Rivera's pulse, still apparent, but getting a little thready. He left him hanging by his bound wrists and trudged up the stairs, trying to wipe the blood from his face with an equally disgusting forearm. He still wasn't comfortable with Ace being present for this, but Tig had threatened to go after Rivera himself if he didn't allow it, so he'd given in. The stairs let out into a dim hallway by the bathrooms, and he could hear Ace laughing from across the club. True to his word, Tig was between her and any access to Rivera. The pair of them were sitting cross legged on top of the white and chrome bar with playing cards stuck to their foreheads, both laughing like idiots, but Ace went silent the second she spotted him. To her credit, she didn't flinch at his appearance or look away. She swallowed hard once and pulled the card off of her forehead, snatching Tig's away, too.

"You ready?" Happy asked her, wishing she'd tell him to just finish it without her, but knew it was futile.

"As I'll ever be." She said, and held out a hand to him. He hesitated, not wanting to get blood on her clean hands, but she waited patiently until he finally reached up and lifted her down from the bar. On her feet, Ace pulled his face down to hers and kissed him. His hand had gone automatically to cradle her face, and when he pulled away he was momentarily horrified by the reddish brown smudge his hand had left on her cheek, but she just absentmindedly wiped it away with the back of her hand.

"You want me with you?" Tig asked, dividing the question evenly between both of them. Ace shook her head when Happy looked at her questioningly, and slid her hand into his.

"Nah." Happy answered for both of them. "Call Viva and tell him we're done here."

Happy stopped her several stairs from the bottom, before she could see Rivera. He could see her pulse hammering at the side of her neck, and he caught her wrist in between his thumb and forefinger to read her.

"Just stay here." He told her. "You don't have to come down, I'll be done in seconds and we can get out of here."

"Stop it, Hap." Ace warned, pulling her wrist out of his grasp. She retreated up a step so that her eyes were level on his. "We had a deal, big man. I swear to you, I'm fine, but I need this, and you're going to give it to me."

Happy knew he was, he hadn't gotten any better at telling her no. It was his saving grace that she didn't have a fucking clue how much sway she actually held over him. He drew her down the rest of the stairs, walking backward so that he could watch her face. He thought he might be more anxious about this than she was. She'd told him more than a few times that nothing he could do would change the way she felt about him, but this was a whole different thing, her seeing it right in front of her. He'd prepared himself for all kinds of reactions, from fear to revulsion to outright horror, but he should have known that he could never predict what Ace would do under any circumstance. Her eyes were huge as she took in the scene in the basement, but her face only held curiosity and a hint of lingering anger. She started to push past him to get a closer look, but he couldn't let her go near him, incapacitated or not.

"Don't." He said, stopping her with a hand on her hip. She tore her eyes away from Rivera and looked up at him. She knew exactly what he needed, and took the stop back that put Happy between her and Rivera.

"Is that really him?" She asked, her voice sounding loud in the room.

"Yeah, that's really him." Happy told her, and forced himself to walk her up to Rivera so she could get a real good look at his handiwork. "You hanging in there?" He asked, looking down past his shoulder at her. He'd been afraid she would be pale or sick, but she had an expression of complete loathing on her face, and it rocked him a little.

"I hate him." She growled and turned the full force of her gaze on him. He turned his back on Rivera so that he was facing her, and pulled her against him, no longer caring about contaminating her, he just needed badly to feel her. He kissed the top of her head, hating Tig for being right about how she would react.

"I know you do, baby, but it's almost over now." He murmured, making up his mind. He pulled his knife and pressed it into her hand. Moving so that he was behind her, he wrapped his own hand over top of hers and pushed them both within easy striking distance of the shell that used to be Carlos Rivera. Ace leaned heavily back against him and he paused to kiss the top of her shoulder. Happy wasted no more time, gripping the back of Rivera's head with his free hand, and sliding the knife into his empty left eye socket, penetrating through to the brain. Ace turned her face away at the sickening squelch when Happy pulled the blade free. He released her hand from under his and let her turn herself into him. Holding her with one arm, he pressed two fingers to Rivera's neck, confirming that he was indeed, very dead.

"It's done." Happy told her, pulling her chin up so he could see her face. Her eyes were clear and she looked completely at peace, and he was instantly hard. He drew her away from the gruesome scene, pressing her back against some metal shelving and slamming his mouth down on hers. In the back of his mind he knew that this was completely fucked up, but he couldn't seem to make himself stop. His hands were under her shirt when he heard several pairs of boots coming down the stairs. He stepped away and smoothed down her shirt quickly. His reputation as a psychopath didn't really bother him, but being caught fucking his old lady at a crime scene wasn't going to do anything good for hers, and he did care about that.

"Thank you." Ace told him seriously, she must have known what this had cost him. He cleared his throat and nodded, drawing his thumb across her cheekbone.

"Holy fuck." Viva's voice boomed in a cross between admiration and disgust. Happy towed Ace behind him by the hand.

"Knife needs to go, too." He told Viva, dropping it at Rivera's feet. He didn't acknowledge the stares from his Miami brothers, it just meant that he'd successfully managed to deflect the attention from what had been done to Ace back to what he was capable of. "Tig will get the rest of this stuff to you in an hour, and we'll be gone by nightfall." He indicated his clothes, and Ace's, too.

"We'll handle it." Viva answered, surveying the room.

"Thanks, brother." Happy clapped hands with him, took one more look back at his handiwork, and went up the stairs. Ace followed him into the bathroom, where he washed up as best he could.

"Ready, big man?" She asked and he nodded. He wanted to get her in a shower fucking immediately and drill her so hard that she'd be walking funny tomorrow. Tig tossed him his cut, and fell into step with them as they vacated the building. He felt more than saw the look Tig shot to Ace questioning what had transpired, and since Ace didn't answer out loud, he knew that Tig had probably known all along how it would go and just wanted confirmation from Ace.

Heading out onto the streets of Miami with the scent of the ocean on the wind and his old lady's arms wrapped underneath his cut, her skin hot on his, Happy couldn't help but think that this is what true freedom felt like.


End file.
